Always searching for ways to feed my deep dark chocolate layer, I reserved Never Let Me Go from the library after watching the trailer for the upcoming movie. I was mesmerized by the premise of the plot and wanted to see how the author would deal with such a dysfunctional world.
Never Let Me Go is a book by Kazuo Ishiguro about three people who’s whole life purpose is to die to donate their vital organs. It’s narrated by Kathy, who spends most of her adult life remembering her childhood and early adulthood with her close friends Ruth and Tommy.
I knew when I began reading the book that it would end like a Shakespearean tragedy, and even though the story was a sad one, my eyes were dry when I shut the book. I was in awe with how Ishiguro regarded his characters with such depth and realism, full of flaws yet glittering moments of redemption. Ruth was especially real to me, and I think everyone has met someone like her: always putting on the brave face, the bossy one who knows it all, manipulative but kind when it suits her. Kathy, her best friend, tip toes around her friend’s mood, and wants to be accepted by her despite Ruth’s often ruthless attitude. And poor Tommy, stuck in the middle, a heart of gold not wanting to harm anyone.
The book had few characters, and the narration jumped through time, but never left me confused. Kathy tells the story in a stream of conciousness sort of way, one thing reminding her of another and she’d go off with the story. It wasn’t linear, but more accurate to how we recall events. She is not literature’s strongest character, but I liked that. Kathy is a vulnerable woman who doesn’t stand up for herself. In a way she seems defeated by the shortness and purpose of her life.
Of course one of the main themes of the novel was the objectification of people and how our world at large has little regard for the sanctity of life. Humans are cloned and then harvested for their organs. The people, who are more like human crops, are completely removed from the world, living in designated areas, always separate from everyone else. It examined the effects of lonliness and isolation in a unique way.
Never Let Me Go is a rare find. Sometimes melodramatic, but always intriguing, it’s a book I’m happy to have read.
