Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Reading novels by Kazuo Ishiguro is something to look forward to, as I learned from [b:The Remains of the Day|57934597|The Remains of the Day|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620064369l/57934597.SY75.jpg|3333111] (1989) and [b:Klara and the Sun|55111243|Klara and the Sun|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1622500451l/55111243.SY75.jpg|84460796] (2021). While his style is seemingly straightforward, the author understands the art of suspense. Never let me go (2005) is no different. The story is told through the eyes of 31-year old Kathy, who looks back on her childhood at Hailsham boarding school. At first her reflections are fairly innocent, but as the years pass it becomes clear that something odd is at work in the world around Kathy and her friends Ruth and Tommy.

Ishiguro’s choice to have a former student tell her side of the story in hindsight works well. It allows the writer to play with memory and perspective and increase the reader’s curiosity. Halfway through I realised the character of the story had changed, from a novel in the style of Donna Tartt’s [b:The Secret History|29044|The Secret History|Donna Tartt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451554846l/29044.SY75.jpg|221359] to a work of science fiction perhaps closest to David Mitchell’s [b:Cloud Atlas|49628|Cloud Atlas|David Mitchell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563042852l/49628.SX50.jpg|1871423] or an episode of Black Mirror.

I admit I wasn’t fully blown away by the ending, but I certainly appreciated the ominous atmosphere. What impressed me most, was the environment in which (shared) make-believe dictates behaviour. Even in the absence of taboos, the students still (un)consciously behaved in a manner they believed they ‘ought’ to. In my opinion, this psychological layer is more compelling than whatever social criticism claimed in the cover text.

I was totally and completely spoiled about this book (stupid movie previews), but that didn't prevent it from being one of the best books I've ever read.

At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about the narrative voice. Kath, the narrator, relays her story in a roughly chronological order, with many tangents and anecdotes. But over time, it builds on itself and becomes the poignant reflections of someone who is facing her own mortality and has also lost everyone and every place that meant anything to her living through her memories. There are several times that Kath reflects on situations that, despite the sadness or finality, took on a closeness and levity that is only possible in the types of friendships where you can simply have wandering conversations about anything. It is clear that Kath is speaking to a reader who is that kind of friend.

The larger plot is fascinating -- Ishiguro has several things to say about mortality, what we are willing to compromise (ethically) to further ourselves, the difference between faith and curiousity, and what it means to be a person and to be a part of the human condition. That, in and of itself was worth reading, but the book truly shines by being about a sincere depiction of one woman's life and personality within this larger world. You end up caring at least as much about Kath, Ruth and Tommy and their arguments, cassette tapes and classes as the big picture.

It is on the relationship level that Ishiguro shines. The friendships are intricate, completely necessary for the characters and extremely complex. Each character has their own flaws and deals (and doesn't deal) with them in various ways as they come of age.