Friday, August 31, 2012

Book Review #178 - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go

As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.




And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.
My Rating: 4/5
I didn't really know what this book was about prior to reading as the description was very cryptic, and even after finishing the book I still wasn't completely sure what the book was about.


Through the entirety of the novel, I felt like I knew enough to understand what was happening, but I never completely grasped the concept of the novel nor did I ever know what was about to happen.


I didn't like any of the characters. I didn't hate them though, I just didn't connect with any of them. I think it was the writing style. From the very first page you feel distanced from them.


Kathy was the character that I liked the most though, as she is the protagonist. Tommy was my second favourite character. I didn't like Ruth at all. She was too controlling for my liking.


I am going to watch the movie based on this movie soon and I hope that it will help me understand what this book was about.


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