Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro | A haunting book in the WORST FONT EVER.

Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro | A Book to Make You Think

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Never Let Me Go

	Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro Knopf, 2005 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 236 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A haunting book in the WORST FONT EVER.

I feel so ridiculous bringing this up, as the book is magnificent, but the font hurt my eyes. If I hadn't been so drawn into the gentle horror of the story, I'd have set the book down and found another edition to read. Why was it published in such an eye-straining, round font?

A Book to Make You Think

This is a fascinating story and I recommend it to readers who aren't afraid to think about where science may be taking us and how important ethics are when faced with new scientific possibilities. It's a good read but prepare yourself to be shocked when you find out what's going on.

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Skilled writer, but leaves me cold

This one is clearly a well-crafted book- the story is thight and the characters are well described and realistic within their strange and tiny world. In the words of comic artist Dan Clowes, however, the book maintains an icy distance between artist and reader. Not bad of itself,i was in the mood for a waarmer read.

To be or not to be?

I agree with Robert Bezimienny's review that the characters are flat and the premise of the story is only sketchily developed. It's a story about people who aren't quite human yet behave like most people you know. So, maybe they are human? It's also a tragic love story about two people who should be together but aren't. What separates them? Unlike the author, I think their own passivity--not another person--is to blame. So, how is that tragic, really?

The first third of the book is pure, page-turning suspense. Life at this English boarding school is definitely odd. What truth lies behind it? Gradually the reader surmises much of the truth and the last third of the book is anticlimatic. I wish the author had continued the suspense with new twists and curiosities. Because the characters are unsatisfying and the emotions distilled like water. One character goes into wild rages but these are described at a great distance. More often, we see this character close up as quite easy-going.

There is a villain of sorts but she is not developed to any real impact. I disliked her and grew impatient that her friend did not see through her but since she never did, what was there to get excited about?

Even though many reviewers seem to love this author's style, and this book in particular, I admit to prefering more red blood in my stories. The movie "The Remains of the Day" should give you an idea if this type of Britainia is your cup of tea.

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Good intentions, mediocore application.

I'd have to disagree with previous reviews in saying that I did not at all find the book slow-paced, nor boring, although definitely anticlimatic.

What disturbs me the most is the part about the 'students' humanity being defended through their art. I'm not sure if Ishiguro was implying that the students were not human, but it seemed as though through their actions they were only imitating human life. None of them ever really loved, even when they thought they did. And even when it was brought up that their art was a glimpse into their soul, can anyone believe that making art would prove that someone was human? Just because someone has the ability to create art that is seemingly 'moving' or 'good' doesn't mean they understand what they are doing or purposefully creating the art because of what is in their souls. Even Kathy points out that none of them really knew what was good or not, they all just seemed to have a scale that was ingrained into them on how to rate art. On how many tokens it would acheive. It was not a very convincing arguement to say that art was being used to make them more human.

There's a subtle line, I believe, between the way the 'students' interact with one another and the way the rest of the world interacts. In a way, every ounce of them clings to the way they believe Hailsham was, even though they start to distort their memories and forget things. I'm not sure if it was poor characterization or a deliberate attempt by Ishiguro to make the 'students' seem slightly less human. But if you're writing a book about clones interacting with each other in a somewhat normal way, trying to make them seem normal, then why end up making them not so human after all.

And I disagree with the writing. I do not think it is one of the best written books in a hundred years. Ishiguro is obvious in pointing things out to the reader even when he's trying to be subtle. Especially in the way he explains his metaphors in simplier terms in the following sentence, as if implying the reader couldn't figure it out. Or in the ways that he had to go out and blatently say that the gaurdians were afraid of the students without even showing it, even in the last greeting at madame's house. I'd rather be able to think for my own, thank you.

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