What I Am Reading - Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro

Read it in paper back at 304 pages.

March's OLT book club pick, the third for the year, selected by none other than the most avid reader in our little collective, Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go.  Never Let Me Go at the time it was published was widely received as a success being named by TIME as the best book of the year as well as one of the best English novels from 1923 to 2005, among other awards and eventually becoming a major motion picture.  Ishiguro himself, is probably best known for his work Remains of the Day. 

High expectations.

Kathy goes to a boarding school called Hailsham.  Her days are filled with lessons, artwork, a high emphasis on fitness, and of course her fellow class-mates.  Kathy's friend Ruth is the bell of the ball at Hailsham and as for as long as Kathy can remember, the social nucleus for all of the girls in Kathy's grade.  Kathy's other friend is Tommy, a youth who is prone to bouts of anger and a terrible artist to boot.  This is their story, primarily comprised of the interactions that peppered their youth, how they mitigate and grow together, and of course about the impending donations.  They all know what's expected of them and that their time will come, but someday they must also leave Hailsham and what's not directly in front of you is always far ahead or behind you.

The book is structured into three lumps, Childhood, Adult, and Donor.  Childhood is exactly as I described above and primarily focuses on the three's interaction within the structured lifestyle of Hailsham.  Adult elevates their age, enhanced interactions, and covers that awkward time when people are discovering themselves and what it means to be an adult in the world.  The third comprises something else altogether and I won't elaborate much further as most of the turns for the book come in this section.

The book itself captures social interaction in an honest and righteous way, while managing to convince me as a reader, of the unpredictability of the human character in social spaces.  We are after all flawed beings with deep social necessities.  Most of the book is about the characters interactions and is less about action scenes or large reveals.  It's a sensitive thing capturing human emotion and communication habits.

So how did OLT receive it since the majority of us gravitate towards action and I would be honest enough to state that human interaction isn't exactly a focus area for any of us.  On a ten point scale with 1 being the worst thing ever and 10 being a must read, we faired pretty well.

Th3ee: 7

Dust: 5

Jhylen: 6

SS: 6

AndyCoug: 7

RaveDave: 6

TechnicalTom: 3

Eleach: 9

Shel: 5

With only nine completing of the ten I think we did work and this got a higher average, 6, than I was expecting.  Go us or what not.

Without a doubt Tommy was the favorite character with only two 'shout-outs' to the main character of the entire story, Kathy.  Most everyones favorite moments were consolidated to section three so I will keep this just as aloof as I did above.

Give it a whirl, you might be surprised.