For the Eclectic Reader challenge I needed to read a dystopian novel. I chose Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go because I heard about its science fiction element and was intrigued to see how its dystopian world would be created on the page.
Never Let Me Go follows the lives of three children - Kathy, Tommy and
Ruth - as they grow together at an English boarding school and then on
into adulthood. They do not live normal lives, however, as a terrible
fate awaits them. The book is narrated by Kathy and slowly reveals the
sci-fi element that shadows, influences, and ultimately destroys these
young people.
The book is one long run-on memory.
Kathy looks back over her life and the events that have stayed with her,
the ones that influenced who she turned out to be, the moments that saw
her shift from a child to a teenager to an adult. It's a book full of
Kathy's inner life; it's her reminiscing and coming to realisations that
she missed the first time around because she wasn't mature enough or
knowledgable enough to see things clearly when they happened. We meet
the rest of the characters only through Kathy's memory. Tommy is
thoughtful and kind, but I did not like Ruth at all. She is manipulative
and it infuriated me that Kathy herself seemed to hardly notice Ruth's
true nature.
I found reading this book hard going, and
not just because of the dystopian subject matter. The book is written
in a strange style - it's an entire narrative of introspection. It does
get a bit repetitive at times as Kathy is constantly trying to make
sense of everything that happened to her and she often goes back over
events in far too much detail. Ishiguro does succeed in portraying the
oppressed and restricted life of Kathy, but I wasn't a big fan of his
style of writing.
The sci-fi element of the book was
quite subtle, even though it was always hanging around in the
background. It soon becomes obvious that Kathy and her friends are
little more than lab rats, but I never really came to understand the
gritty details of how this process works. Ishiguro's narrative is so
focussed on Kathy's thoughts and her perspective on the actions of
herself and others, that the science behind their lives takes a
backseat.
The book's blurb mentions a love triangle
which does occur, but the book is actually about a lot more than that.
It's about human rights. It asks the question - if your life is
predestined should you be allowed to live a normal life up until your
destiny is fulfilled? Never Let Me Go is a complex story with a
harsh theme on the fragility of life and the power that others can hold
over us. It's also a tragic story of lost opportunities. All in all, a
very sad book indeed.
Monday 15 July 2013
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I feel like I *should* read this - but I know I never will. Just not my thing
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your review
Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out