Never Let Me Go  (English, Paperback, Ishiguro Kazuo)

Never Let Me Go portrays a dystopian version of the current time, where the end of innocence reveals a real world of horror.

Summary Of The Book

Kathy, the protagonist, is 31 years old. She is the narrator of Never Let Me Go, as she recalls her past, explores her present, and speculates about her inevitable future. The story is set in England.

Kathy’s childhood was spent in Hailsham Boarding School. The students are cut off from the rest of the world, and not really taught any life skills. But it is a great place to be, where they are well looked after, where they are made to feel that they are important in some way.

Though the students are not taught essential skills, they are encouraged to express themselves through various forms of art such as painting and poetry. The best works among these are chosen and taken away.

In this atmosphere, Kathy grows close to two of her fellow students, Ruth and Tommy. Tommy is a creative boy who is picked on by bullies, while Ruth is a self-centered girl with strong opinions and always intent on getting what she wants. Under the tough facade though, she is insecure and vulnerable.

Kathy appoints herself as a protector to Tommy, defending him when he is picked on by other children. A strong bond grows between them, but always, Ruth intrudes. Gradually, Tommy develops an intimate relationship with Ruth.

As the children grow into young adults, they leave the school and are moved to residential complexes known as Cottages, which are nowhere near as comfortable as the school was. The young people have known their real identities and fate for some time now, and are resigned to it.

As time passes on, the inevitable fate that awaits them claims each one by one. Tommy and Ruth leave first. Kathy, in the present time, has managed to reestablish contact with them and they try to draw strength and comfort from each other.

But time is running out for all of them, and their short lives and bittersweet relationships must surely end, as the true purpose for which they were born comes calling for them.

Whether a person reads Never Let Me Go as a novel of science fiction, a coming of age story, or as a sort of dark portrayal of the human condition, it is a story that will leave its imprint on the reader’s mind for a long time to come.

About Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro is an award winning Japanese born British author.

Other novels by Kazuo Ishiguro are The Remains Of The Day, Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall, When We Were Orphans, and An Artist of the Floating World.

His novels are often set in the very recent past, and explores themes of nostalgia, memories, and memory as a defense against current reality.

Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1954. His family moved to England so that his father could take up a research position at the National Institute of Oceanography. Later, he joined the University of Kent and earned a degree in English and Philosophy. He is also a songwriter, and has co-written four songs in Jazz singer Stacey Kent’s Breakfast On The Morning Tram. He won the Man Booker Prize for his novel, The Remains Of The Day, which was made into a feature film.