Book Review: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
A Modern British Literary Classic by Author of Remains of the Day
Mar 5, 2009
Hailsham, An Unusual Boarding School
Never Let Me Go is a surreal novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the award-winning author of The Remains of the Day. It is an unusual tale told in the first-person by a 30-something woman named Kathy. Kathy reminisces throughout its pages about growing up as a young person at Hailsham, a boarding school for “special” children. Here, the children have no parents, no last names and only a shadowy understanding of what it is that makes them so “special.”
At Hailsham, health and creativity are strongly encouraged, a mysterious woman periodically appears to take away the students’ best art and one troubled teacher seems to want to tell the children more… but cannot bring herself to do so. While the students here are aware of the outside world, they are never allowed to see it. Even upon graduation, they move on to equally sheltered settings for further specialized training.
A Disturbing Revelation
Never Let Me Go is a well-told story that draws the reader in to a strange world that at times feels very ordinary. Yet a sense of secrecy and ominous fate hang over the entire narrative. Eventually, the reader is led to a revelation of just how atypical these young people really are. Ultimately, the reader is challenged to consider the lines between scientific progress and ethics, between what is right and wrong in the preservation of our very lives.
Mystery, Science Fiction or More?
Sometimes touted as a modern mystery, Never Let Me Go is unlike any mystery in the traditional sense. The mystery here lies in the journey of self-discovery upon which the three central characters embark, as they grow up together and progress toward the fulfillment of their singular purpose in life. In other words, the mystery lies not in “whodunit?”, but in “what does it all mean?”.
The final unveiling of all these answers, while bordering on science fiction, may leave the reader feeling a little empty. This is perhaps partly because the author is a bit heavy-handed with his earlier cues and partly because a lot of questions remain unanswered. But the reader will likely forgive this in thanks for an otherwise flowing and engaging read, full of well-crafted characters caught up in a disturbing tale.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro was published in the UK by Faber and Faber, 2005. ISBN 13: 978-0571224111
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