Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Note that I originally read this in 2016, but didn't realize it until I was offered this copy from NetGalley.  This is the review from that time.

I have a few problems which I want to mention up front.  First, there has been controversy over it's classification as dystopian science fiction.  I didn't know anything about the book when I picked it up, and so I didn't read it as sci-fi.  Quickly you realize that something is a little off, and although it is integral to the storyline, in a way, the science fiction part is background.

Second, it will be difficult to review this book without spoilers but I am going to give it a go.

Basically this is the story (told by Kathy H.) of her life in "late 1990's England" and that of her friends Ruth and Tommy.  She is now 31, and has been a "carer" for 11 years.  She reminisces about her childhood, and how they grew up together in Hailsham, a special "boarding school" where they are kept very isolated from the rest of the world.  They had a rather normal curriculum (if very old technology), with emphasis on their artwork, and on healthy choices (smoking is taboo to the extreme).  The best artwork is taken by "Madame", and the children believe it may be going to a "gallery" on the outside.  They are taught not to question - anything.  Although the three are good friends, they have squabbles like any other group of kids growing up together.  Ruth is very self-centered, and tends to be a bit of a bully, with Kathy and Tommy falling into line behind her.  Eventually a normal love triangle forms.  Ruth and Tommy become a couple, but Kathy and Tommy continue to talk, as they question life, choices, the world.  Ruth does everything she can to keep Kathy and Tommy apart.  At the age of 16 they leave the school and live in The Cottage (sounds like an old farmhouse) with older residents, until they are ready to get further training, and to move on to what they are really being groomed for.

The character depths were good. I really wanted to slap them all.  Ruth of course deserved it - often.  Tommy, well I just wanted to wake him up.  Kathy was the peacemaker, but for how little she stood up for herself, she deserved slapping too.  She should have put Ruth in her place more than once.

Overall, the book is very sad.  For this group of individuals, there was never any real hope, no dreams of a wonderful future, no major triumphs.  But they also knew nothing different.  No other way of life.  Overall, they seemed happy with their lot in life, proud that they had attended Hailsham.  Circumstances as they were, their teachers tried to make sure they had everything they needed.  Sort of.

In one way, this book deserved 5 stars -- the overall idea is good, somewhat unique.  It is very thought-provoking.  Then again, part of me would rate it only 1 star -- it got boring, a little too detailed in descriptions.  There is not really a lot of excitement.  I settled on the middle ground. The 3 stars means I enjoyed it, am glad I read it, but probably won't read again.

This book instantly draws you in, very  few books actually leave you wanting to abandon all plans and finish it in one go but this book is one of them. Desperately tragic and thought provoking I saw the film years ago and the story stayed with me. I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy the book as much as film adaptations are better at making you care for characters at times but I’m glad I received a copy through NetGalley as it’s now probably one of my favourite novels. I can’t add much more that the many accolades and awards this book has won haven’t already said but as an average reader I can confirm it deserves them all.

Thank you to Faber and Faber Ltd and NetGalley for the free review copy.

Never Let Me Go is a bleak novel, that is made ever bleaker by the way in which our narrator normalises her horrifying reality. Although this is a work of speculative fiction, Kathy's world does not seem all that different from our own one (there were many moments which struck me as quintessentially British). Although Kathy's recollection of her childhood is incredibly evocative, Kazuo Ishiguro keeps his cards close to his chest, so Hailsham School's true purpose remains out of our reach. Yet, the more we learn about the guardians and the various rules imposed on Hailsham students, the more we grow uneasy, and suspicious, of Hailsham.
Kathy's rather remote narration deepens the novel's ambivalent atmosphere. We know that in the present, years after Hailsham, she works as a carer but we don't really know what that entails.
Although Kathy doesn't mythologising Hailsham, or her time there, her narration possesses a nostalgic quality. Ishiguro captures the intense, and ever-shifting, friendships we form as children. Kathy feels a certain pull to the brazen Ruth. Their fraught relationship frequently takes the centre-stage in the novel. There are misunderstandings, petty behaviours, jealousies, and all sorts of little cruelties. Ruth's is an awful friend, yet I could see how important her presence was in Kathy's life. By comparison Tommy seems a far simpler person, and I could definitely sympathise with his various struggles at Hailsham.
Ishiguro excels when he writes about 'memory'. At times Kathy questions the accuracy of her memories, wondering whether what she has just relayed actually happened or not. There is regret too over her past actions or words she'd left unspoken. She also tries to see a scene through someone else's eyes, hoping perhaps to gain some insight into others.
The novel poses plenty of complex questions and challenges definitions of 'humanity' and 'freedom'. It definitely provided a lot food for thought.
As provoking as Never Let Me Go was, I can't say that it moved it me as much as Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day.

Shortlisted for a Man Booker prize for a reason.

This was a reread for me and it was a lot of fun. The first time around, I solely focused on the sci-fi/dystopian aspects (I love how it’s set in an parallel universe) and the narration. This time, I found myself so much more invested in the characters themselves. I spent so much time thinking about their existence, their reasons to live, and how they navigated each day with that knowledge. It was a much more emotional and thought-provoking reread. 

Not that I didn’t enjoy this story the first time I read it, but I feel like I got a whole lot more out of it this time. Which only shows me that my reading experiences have become more meaningful than they were years ago. And that is a rewarding feeling.