Book Review

[kenjari]

Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro

I found this book to be deeply engrossing - I could hardly put it down and could barely stop thinking about it once I finished. You could almost say that the title also describes the effect on the reader. Even though this novel is relatively short, there is so much going on and so much to ponder.
Never Let Me Go is the story of Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth, who grew up at a Hailsham, small boarding school in the English countryside, as told by Kathy as she recounts her memories. Ishiguro has an amazing ability to portray childhood and adolescent friendship in a very realistic and nuanced manner. The way these three people relate to each other and how their relationships change over time is so perfectly rendered.


It becomes immediately clear that there is something different and not quite right about Hailsham and its students. Ishiguro executes a perfectly paced slow reveal of the secrets Hailsham and its student hold. They are clones, created to provide new organs to the sick. As such, the course of their lives is already determined: after leaving Hailsham they will become carers, providing companionship and comfort to their fellow students as they undergo the process of donations. Then, they will start their own series of donations. Usually, after three or four donations, they "complete". The clones themselves are largely accepting of their situation. This is probably mainly due to the way they were brought up. At Hailsham, they were treated very well and given a very good education. They were also taught that they were special and had a special purpose and place in life.

First, Never Let Me Go is a meditation on the bioethics of cloning whole human beings (as opposed to just cloning parts, which, by the way can already be done to a limited extent and is available to the public). Without ever getting pedantic or indulging in obvious polemics, Ishiguro explores the degree of humanity the clones have, whether they have souls, their place in society, and how they should be treated.
The novel can also be read as a kind of metaphor for the place of an oppressed minority in society. Much of outside society views clones as somewhat less than human. The people who run Hailsham aim to show this to be false and to elevate the clones' place and treatment in the world. Thus, the book also raises questions about social and political oppression and about the issue of outside help for the oppressed.
The book covers more universal ground, too. It tackles coming of age, dealing with one's past, the importance of memory, the vicissitudes of friendship, dealing with loss.

Then, there's the question of why there don't seem to be any rebels among the clones, why no one attempts to just run away. I think that this is a commentary on certain aspects of modern life. After all, how many people truly rebel against the framework of modern life? How many people are raised to follow a certain road but radically depart from that path? Plenty of people take on huge burdens or make vast sacrifices because of sense of duty instilled in them. Also, the students have been told over and over that they are special and that their destiny is special. It's not surprising that the students would not give that up so readily despite its destructiveness.

Comments

[outlawradio.livejournal.com]

I *adored* this book. It just broke my heart. I read it after reading The Remains of the Day for a class in Law School (the class was on Judgment and Decision Making) and was so enthralled by Ishiguro's amazing rendering of interpersonal relationships and also the little lies people tell themselves to keep them from questioning their own actions. Really wonderful.