I truly can’t, for the
life of me, figure out the mass appeal and popularity of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Blurbs on the book by renowned authors use
words like anguish and heartbreaking. I
didn’t feel either of these things, perhaps because the characters were not
appealing to me at all. Oh well, to each
his own.
Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy are
three friends who are part of a group raised for a special purpose. From a very early age, they are enrolled in a
school led by the “guardians” and told that their art projects are sacred. After graduating from their school, they go
to live in the Cottages, a middle ground to prepare them for what is to
come.
Never Let Me Go
is narrated by Kathy. Ishiguro has a
peculiar way of having Kathy state what she is about to tell you instead of
allowing the story to unfold naturally. While
it has an important message…how science has the danger of going too far…it was
just too predictable for me.
So I was not one of the
many people who will call Never Let Me Go
one of the best books in recent times.
Predictability and unlikeable characters do not make quality literature
for me. To me, the mark of a great book
is whether I can’t wait to pick it up again once I set it down. Not the case for Never Let Me Go.
MY RATING - 2
