Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2010)

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2010)

An exploration of the human experience shrouded in mystery.

Laura’s Rating: 2/5 Stars

Plot: Hailsham, an English boarding school, specializes in art and literature but its students are isolated from the outside world. Friends Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy grow from adolescence to young adulthood, only finding out the truth about Hailsham once they leave.

Opinion: This book is highly acclaimed and received a lot of positive recognition when published but I don’t quite get the hype. The message and themes are poignant and interesting in theory, but the way they are explored in the book just doesn’t work for me. The pace was sooo slow and certain scenes were incredibly detailed for no reason, which dragged out the story. The entire book feels like an introduction to something exciting that’s going to happen, without much payoff at the end. Even when explanations are finally offered for earlier mysteries, it doesn’t feel exciting.

The premise of Never Let Me Go is thought provoking, but not much happens and I was left feeling disappointed. I think the book had a lot of potential, but you can skip this one.