Never Let Me Go

Very well written and suspenseful (in a non-scary way). Just so darn sad and not redeeming, hence the 3-star.

Absolutely loved Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day and knowing that Never Let Me Go was slated to become a movie meant I had to pick it up. I'm glad I didn't read any reviews prior to reading as Kazuo is a master of unfolding subtle little details. Far too many books tend to beat you over the head as they make their point, telegraphing all the important bits and practically screaming “this is important!”
Read the book not the reviews.

Remains of The Day is beyond a doubt Ishiguro's magnum opus, but I kind of love how f** up this one is. Never Let Me Go exudes gut-punching sadness and beauty in a dystopian scenario that would have been cheaply used as shock factor by a less skilled writer.

Hailsham seems like a normal English board school, but as details are revealed through the eyes of Kathy H., a former student there, we come to learn there's more to it than at first glance.

At thirty-one years old, Kathy, who has been a carer for 11 years, begins our story by boasting about how most of the donors she's overseen have done well but that she is also looking forward to being a donor soon herself.

While this is all revealed in the first few pages and gives away a lot of what is going to happen in the book, it doesn't ruin the suspense found in the pages inside. That's because Ishiguro instead chooses to focus on the journey and the relationships between Kathy and her two old friends and classmates from Hailsham, Tommy and Ruth.
Told over three parts, we learn about the history of Hailsham, what lays beyond that realm, and the true “outside” world everybody from Hailsham has to face, whether they like it or not.

Throughout the book is a big theme of trying to hold on to something for as long as possible – go figure for a book called Never Let Me Go. It's a simple theme when distilled to its core, but Ishiguro still manages to get your heartstrings with his masterful writing – though I will admit there is a time or two where it feels like we get off into the weeds a bit.

To me, the most memorable part comes about a quarter of the way in the book, when Kathy is describing a tape she got and what it means to her:

“What made the tape so special for me was this one particular song: track number three, “Never Let Me Go”

It's slow and late night and American, and there's a bit that keeps coming round when Judy sings: “Never let me go. baby, baby Oh Never let me go...” I was eleven then, and hadn't listened to much music, but this one song, it really got to me. I always tried to keep the tape wound to just that spot so I could play the song whenever a chance came by...

...What was so special about this song? Well, the thing was, I didn't used to listen properly to the words; I just waited for that bit that went: “Baby, baby, never let me go...” And what I'd imagine was a woman who'd been told she couldn't have babies, who'd really, really wanted them all her life. Then there's a sort of miracle and she has a baby, and she holds this baby very close to her and walks around singing: “Baby, never let me go...” partly because she's so happy, but also because she's so afraid something will happen, that the baby will get ill or be taken away from her. Even at the time, I realised this couldn't be right, that this interpretation didn't fit with the rest of the lyrics. But that wasn't an issue with me. The song was about what I said, and I used to listen to it again and again, on my own, whenever I got the chance.”

As you can tell from this passage, there's fear about good things being taken away without warning. And this feeling of fear permeates throughout the whole book, making for a somber and heartbreaking read.

But amongst the fear is also a sense of accepting, producing an interesting combination that feels relatable in a world full of scary things just waiting to happen. It's an important reminder that, while things have the potential to be lost, it's important to remember the good times, to count our blessings for what we have now, and to enjoy the present moment.

Unforgettable experience.

Left me so cold and wondering how far we are from this reality, or maybe we are living it without even knowing it...

I really liked this book. The concept was interesting. I liked the setting. It felt calming with a weird undertone. There were parts that felt a little repetitive. Some of the dialog felt unrealistic. Overall really enjoyed it though!

I'm thinking I'm maybe not the biggest Kazuo Ishiguro fan. I didn't really enjoy the way this was written, the character's voice, that's always a bit of a risk with a first person - are you invested? I wasn't, not in Kathy or Tommy or Ruth.

I don't want to say to much because it could be construed as spoilers - but there's nothing to spoil! As the last few pages came closer I realised that I'd never get to know what I wanted. This whole novel was a back-story to what actually wanted to read.

It definitely has points to make and themes to explore. I'm sure it will stay with me on some level, as Klara has.

This was a very slow burn read. It was as slow as it could get, and you might think it would bore you to death! Well, what luck that Ishiguro wrote it. He could literally write a thousand pages about one unimportant event, and I would still read it because of how grippingly he writes.
You might think that all the details seemed unnecessary for the plot or character development, but after the big secret is revealed at the end, you'll understand what it was really about, and those unimportant events will suddenly feel very important.
I loved how the author teased you about the secret, like ‘you'll know it in the right time,' and always revealed just enough to keep you reading.

As a sci-fi fan, I found the sci-fi elements in this book to be very subtle—really just a dash of it. It could also be a good starting point for readers who want to get more into this genre.

Idk why I kept expecting there to be a twist?? Overall really good tho, feels like one I'll need to reread at some point to like fully appreciate

I think you can summarize this novel in a honestly really simple way: Ruth is such a bitch. I caught myself saying the phrase “that bitch” too many times to count. Other than that feeling of pure hatred toward this character (not really hatred but maybe like annoyance?) I felt myself feeling very little. 

Tbh I don't really know what this novel was trying to get at. I felt the heartwarming moments to be mild and the character development to be as flat as the Saskatchewan plans. I thought there would honestly be more, be more plot, be more characterization of the characters, just simple be more. But instead I was kind of hit with a super cold and boring novel. One where it said something but I felt nothing from it. I don't think I disliked this book that's for sure (this was acc my first audio book btw) but I just thought that there was nothing to be gained from reading it. 

I think that this thing would've been a cool cool thing where it depicted this amazing and interesting group of friends, their struggle in the real world after being sheltered by this pretty sheltered school, and then there was always some weird thing about them, some mystery regarding the group of friends. They meet later and boom u see how the years have affected them, how the act of becoming an adult changed them. And then at the end, boom, u get exposed to the thingy at the end and whatever. idk the ending part where its supposed to be a surprise ig didn't really feel like anything important it was just kinda like, damn sucks man. 

Characters: 
Kathy - some girl who tbh I dint give two shits about. Like she felt so inhuman. Ig that's the point with them being clones or whatever. But there was acc like no emotion coming out of anything this girl did. The main part of this book was ig the little song she liked and the fact that they couldn't have babies ig? but tbh I thought like bruh this girl is not that girl.

Ruth - Bitch. She was just honestly such an awful friend and I think she was the most real part of this book. This idea that this bitch girl who was such a bitch when she was younger, but only realized when you grew older, reconciles with her friends ig and is not so much of a bitch when she's dying is interesting ig. But yeah pretty realistic of this bitch ass friend ig, shows how friendship is more blah blah and sometimes it's blind or whatever. 

Tommy - bro this guy. What was he even supposed to be. Ig some things happened to him but like idk it just bro this guy encapsulates what is wrong with this novel. Just random things thrown on to the character to make them feel like a human when in reality they just feel hallow and empty and idk. 

Adding on to the characters I felt that this whole true love thing between Tommy and Kathy that ruth said they had was just silly. I don't know what true love is but I don't think those two were a good depiction at all. I felt they were just two chummy friends who kinda knew each others secrets. Could be very easily substituted by others. So def not true love. 

Yeah but honestly I just don't think it was that great of a book. Tbh just something to listen to in the background and it's not that sigh what I was expecting. Tbh I only read this book because some really really pretty girl said it was her fav book and I thought wow I better check it out, but maybe that girl's personality is just as dull as this book. Who knows? 

Great. Very haunting. I love how the dystopian setting acts more as just a backdrop to the main story, and just accentuates a lot of the same feelings most of us experience regarding love and death.

Coming from this not knowing what it would be about
I cannot BELIEVE what I just read. How completely DEVASTATING oh my gosh

The story stared out very slowly but I was immediately into the characters. But then it never really sped up and the characters, mainly Ruth didn't really grow and stayed the way they were, which wasn't very nice or lovable. I also found most of the side characters quite boring. 

I liked the mystery of why things happened that way at Hailsham but then the ending was a little underwhelming. Although I did think it make a big impact. Because the carers they spoke to were so very wrong. They felt so right but they were still scared of them. They sort of felt like they should feel a certain way and fought for that but they didn't see them as fully fledged people with souls. It felt so wrong and icky when reading it but it was so well done. Miss Lucy was right in the end and they got to know that. 

So I had a hard time getting through this book and didn't really love it but I think the ending is really well done, although it makes the whole story feel a bit pointless. But then maybe that's the point, I don't know

4/5

i really enjoyed the writing and storyline of this book! where it was lacking for me is, i think, my expectations of it being focused on being dystopian when in reality that was such a small aspect of the book. ultimately, this book is about 3 friends growing up together with a side plot of dystopian. So if you go into it knowing it's mostly a coming-of-age story rather than a dystopian, you should enjoy it!

I am 100% convinced that that best way to consume this beautiful, yet disturbing novel is through audio. The book is written in first person, very casually. The main character, Kathy, goes off on tangents or will start talking about an event and then remember she has to tell the reader about a prior event in order to give this current one some context. It's as if your friend is sitting beside you telling you the story of her early years and that's what makes the audiobook so much better than the physical book. It really feels even more like Kathy is talking to you, she's sharing something with you specifically. 

Kathy's reflections on her time at Hailsham and her relationships with other students and the guardians were all very interesting to me and the stories from her early childhood especially felt very realistic and even brought up some memories of my own childhood. As the children grew up at the boarding school, they learned bit by bit what it meant to be a student at Hailsham, but none of them fully understood until after they graduated, and even then some things were still murky. Kathy and her friends knew they were special, and the guardians even told them so, but what it truly meant to be so special was never clearly spelled out during their time at Hailsham. So much of what they really needed to know was hidden within their school lessons. Or in a rumor, a whisper, an overheard conversation. Their lives were puzzles they only got a piece of every once in a while but tried to put together anyway and it was heartbreaking to “witness.”

It's been a while since I became so attached to the characters in a book in this way. The profound message of how much society is willing to ignore providing they are benefiting is unsettling. A dark story with unnerving parallels to real world humanity.

This reminded me a lot of Tender is the Flesh, but from a different angle. I like how longer the author spent with exposition on the emotions and internal workings of the main character, especially given the intentional dehumanization and conversation around “soul” at the end of the book.

3.5. Soul crushing ending.

The pacing is glacial and I don't like Ishiguro enough to struggle thru.

4☆

I really liked the writing but the subject content is one that makes me quite uneasy

If you're into coming-of-age stories, sci-fi, and arts and crafts, this is your jam!

Kathy is “carer” telling the story of her childhood. She was raised at a special school where everything's a bit different, and the students are prepared for the specific future that's laid out for them. It isn't exactly a mystery; students are told what will happen to them, and we readers figure it out early in the story. But even so, there's a lot hidden in the shadows.

Ishiguro is a master storyteller with prose and character development that makes me envious. It's a simple story about innocence, whether the ends justify the means, and what it means to live a fulfilling life, but despite its simplicity, the writing draws you in.

One of the best novels I've read in recent years.

This was faultless and enthralling, touching on what makes us human, the social bonds and hierarchies we construct, the ethics of scientific advancement, art, love, hope, and what it means to live. Ishiguro explores these themes with a wistful and alluring spirit through his expertly crafted characters, namely the intimate and intelligent narration by Kathy and her nuanced relationships with Ruth and Tommy.
It is not altogether clear what the novel is about from the beginning. Structured like something of a memoir, the reader is made to slowly piece together this world through a series of anecdotes provided by Kathy as she reflects on her upbringing within a program for other students of her kind. We sense that something about this world is strange and troubling, and somehow it feels nostalgic and tender, with a candid yet ambiguous tone. It was at once devastating and mesmerising. It was perfect.

This book will sit with you for a very long time. It is so masterfully written and drives you into an existential crisis of humanity. It will force you to question your morals.

As with other books written by Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go is from the perspective of a first person narrator, Kathy. And you will either love her or hate her.

That it is a book that can be so relevant to society is the reason it has automatically jumped up in my Top 10 greatest books of all time. I implore that you read this book.