Never Let Me Go

On the Inner Flap

As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.

And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.

A tale of deceptive simplicity, Never Let Me Go slowly reveals an extraordinary emotional depth and resonance–and takes its place among Kazuo Ishiguro’s finest work.

My Thoughts

I picked this book up because I had heard positive things about it, but for some reason I missed what genre this book was in amongst all the good reviews. Mid-way through the book, the a-ha moment came and I realised it was science fiction. Despite the hype, had I known this was a science fiction novel, I probably would not have chosen to read it -- particularly this early in my renewed relationship with reading.

I really liked Ishiguro's writing. It has no hint of pretension, and he just takes you along for the ride. The childhood stories could be reminiscent of anyone's -- they were so 'normal' (aside from being isolated from the rest of the world and being raised by their teachers) in their playful innocence. At this stage I was still under the impression that it was a coming of age story with hints of romance on the horizon, the breaking and mending of friendships, overcoming schoolyard bullying, etc., etc. 

Reading the novel, I got the sense that Kathy, the narrator, was inherently forgiving and compliant. I wanted to believe that had the story been told from any of the other characters' point of view there would have been more resistance, more rage, at their lot in life. Maybe there was a time when Kathy was not so accepting of her fate, but by the time she got to tell her story, fate had already been delivered and there was nothing she could do about it but just objectively state the facts (albeit from her point of view). I'm still confused about how I feel about her, if I liked her, admired her, or if I was just annoyed by her. 

I'm really glad I read this novel and wasn't prematurely swayed due to its genre. It certainly evokes a range of emotions and I can see why it would work well as a book club choice as it would generate more than enough discussion.

Tea Pairing

The entire weekend I was reading Never Let Me Go, I seemed to have a constantly filled teapot of Pu-erh tea blended with chrysanthemum. Pu-erh is generally an earthy tea with a soft bitterness, and I do love it plain. However the package I had in my cupboard was blended with chrysanthemum flowers, which adds a sweetness and a light refreshing aroma. A quintessentially bitter-sweet tea, I believe it paired marvelously with this novel.