Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro caught my attention a few weeks ago as I was perusing the shelves of my high school's library. Something about the title struck me as interesting and when I read the blurb on the back cover; my interest was piqued because it looked somewhat futuristic and sad- leading me to believe there was some sort of mystery the main character would solve or some secret would be revealed to her in an untimely fashion. It's technically adult fiction, and I would agree on this "diagnosis" based on the peculiar obsession the main character/narrator has with trying to figure out the logistics of sex, which seems somewhat likely based on the progression of the main character's age and maturity, but it actually became a little bit annoying because I kept hoping the author would get back on track and tell the story. Apparently, I've become spoiled by YA fiction.

The gist is this: Kathy recounts the story of her "childhood". We find out that she is one of many students being raised in a group home and eventually all of these children will be educated and groomed to become full-time organ donors. The organ donation isn't a big secret, but the author doesn't exactly reveal this tidbit until a considerable chunk into the story (about 80 pages or so) and this fact doesn't necessarily create the conflict. So what is the conflict? The idea that maybe love can get the donors a temporary (3 year) reprieve. However, this "reprieve" doesn't turn out to be the legit.

What else pushes the story forward? There are strange "frenemy" tensions between the main character, Kathy and her good female friend, Ruth. It seems that the two girls keep one another at arms-length and a boy named Tommy seems to be partially to blame for this. It doesn't seem that Kathy is overly drawn to Tommy, but it seems that Ruth enjoys having Tommy on a string more than she actually enjoys being involved with him.

While I pushed through the book and the moral of the story seemed to be the same message as that of Brave New World or even 1984 (beware letting technology advance beyond or morality) , I can't say that I found it worth the time and effort. Many reviews praised the book repeatedly, but I didn't find it particularly witty or revelatory even after looking at other reviews for some insight. It definitely reminded me how artful some authors really are in that they make reading enjoyable-- Susan Beth Pfeffer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Alex Garland, and David Baldacci. It just reminds me that it takes the rainy days to appreciate the sunshine.