Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go is a page turner that reminded me a lot of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (although Never Let Me Go is not a futuristic dystopia like BNW but more of a parallel universe dystopia as it's set in the late 1990's). In fact, there's no mention of any futuristic technology and Ishiguro makes a point to not do so. Thus, the reader can immediately draw close parallels between NLMG and our current reality.

The book is voiced by Kathy H., who has grown up at a school called Hailsham, which is located in an isolated section of English country side. As a reader, you are confronted immediately with Kathy's vocabulary usage of "donor", "carer", and "completed". Clues as to the meanings of these words are revealed gradually through out the novel and I think that is meant to mirror the growing awareness of Kathy and her classmates from Hailsham as to who they are and their purpose in life. Each of these clues adds to the disturbing feeling that the reader experiences as one realizes the nature of the madness that this parallel society (but it also makes the reader realize that actual society is not that much different from Ishiguro's creation).

Central to Kathy's story are her two best friends, Ruth and Tommy, who have grown up with her at Hailsham. Ruth and Tommy eventually become a couple and Kathy is close friends with both of them.

As the second part of the novel progresses, the reader sees how relationship complications of this threesome eventually come to break them apart. However, in the third part of the book, they are brought back together under completely different circumstances and the reader witnesses the depth of their love for each other.

In addition to the relationship between these three characters, the ultimate outcome and the purpose behind their existence and others like them is deeply disturbing. It got me thinking not only about how scientific advances thrust more power into the hands of humans who are ultimately incapable of handling it, but also about how societies throughout time have always had a class of people who are dispensable.

Harvesting internal organs can symbolically mean using the lives of some for the benefit of others...like slavery. Slaves lives were (are) basically given away to enrich a few. An example, the better off in rich countries use a disproportionate amount of the world's resources at the expense of the poorer peoples...their sacrifices make our posh lifestyles possible and we think little of it. It begs the question if true equality within humanity is ever possible and if this user-usee relationship will always exist in some form or another for the remainder of history. For all our "enlightenment" it seems like we have gotten no farther in this area. Ishiguro is just presenting yet another possible situation where that can play out.

This is a good book and I foresee it becoming a modern classic. There is so much to think about.

Now, I just have to figure out how I can get a rental copy of this movie!

Literarily Yours,
Laurie