Book Review: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Product details:
Publisher: Faber & Faber.
Paperback, 304 pages.
Release date: October 14th 2010 (first published 2005).
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Ages: Adult.

From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day comes a devastating new novel of innocence, knowledge, and loss. As children Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were.

Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special—and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together. Suspenseful, moving, beautifully atmospheric, Never Let Me Go is another classic by the author of The Remains of the Day.

Never Let Me Go was my first foray into the work of Kazuo Ishiguro and it definitely left a lasting impression on me. It’s one that I’m very glad to have read even though the ending left me drained and in tears. Be warned, this is not an easy read. My interest in this book was piqued when I saw the movie trailer, which raises a lot of questions and hints at deeply-buried and dangerous secrets. Beyond that, I knew very little about this book, and that’s the best way, the only way, really, to read this one. Never Let Me Go packs a huge emotional punch. Many books may tug at your heartstrings, but this one will rip your heart right out.

I should point out that this book is often categorised as science fiction and I think that’s somewhat misleading. Certainly, if I had read that this was science fiction, I wouldn’t have picked it up, as it’s not a genre I ever really read. So, while there are definite elements of science fiction here here, I would class this as a mostly dystopian, part coming of age novel. One that deals with love, loyalty, friendship, betrayal, illness and loss.

Our introduction to Kathy H., our narrator, sees her living in England of the late 1990’s and working as a carer. She is in a reflective mood, looking back on her days at Hailsham, an elite and idyllic boarding school set in the English countryside which she attends with her friends Ruth, who is presented as being quite bossy and bitchy and the boisterous and misunderstood Tommy. The students at Hailsham are special, but we are never told why. There is an inkling that all is not quite normal at Hailsham, but again, we aren’t really given an indication as to why that is. Kathy tells her story as though we are familiar with the society she lives in, and from the first sentences, we certainly know that there is something very peculiar about her world. She is resigned to the rules and regulations of her society. She doesn’t try to fight against it and doesn’t question the way things happen there. This fact, coupled with Kathy’s chatty style, as though she is talking to a friend, will lull the reader into a false sense of security and acceptance. The narration is childlike and naïve, but as the book progresses Ishiguro’s stark and simple style will leave the reader unsettled and on edge. When the truth is revealed about Kathy and her friends it is chilling and eerie. By this time the reader will pretty much know what is going on here, but won’t want to believe it. In this book Ishiguro creates a truly horrific world, not so far removed from our own, which will remind you of the fragility of life, and the importance of choice.

This book is one for the patient reader. I have read reviews that slated Never Let Me Go for being tiresome, boring and too slow-moving. It won’t be for everyone. It is slow moving in places, but that’s deliberate. Ishiguro wants his horror to happen slowly so that you can see it all unfolding right in front of your eyes, even though you might not quite believe what’s going on here. This book is beautifully written, truly astounding and terribly tragic. It’s definitely one that will prompt a lot of discussion, and will stay with you long after you’ve finished it. In a way, it will never let you go. Highly recommended.