Never Let Me Go in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Feb 07, 2011 Shannon rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 06, 2013 Lacey Louwagie rated it really liked it

Shelves: sciencefiction, literary-fiction, dystopia

I wavered between giving this book three and four stars, but decided to go with the "crowd" on this one. ;) I didn't find any of the characters to be particularly likeable, although I did find them believable. Mostly, I kept feeling irritated by Kathy in the beginning for holding Ruth in such high esteem, when she was clearly a "mean girl." And I had a little trouble buying into their lasting bond, although I'm sure there are a lot of friendships that unfold in a similar way. I just think that i I wavered between giving this book three and four stars, but decided to go with the "crowd" on this one. ;) I didn't find any of the characters to be particularly likeable, although I did find them believable. Mostly, I kept feeling irritated by Kathy in the beginning for holding Ruth in such high esteem, when she was clearly a "mean girl." And I had a little trouble buying into their lasting bond, although I'm sure there are a lot of friendships that unfold in a similar way. I just think that in most cases, girls outgrow them, whereas Kathy never really seemed to.

But that's when I have to remember that the upbringing and experiences that Kathy and her friends have are not anywhere near "in most cases." This certainly reads more like literary fiction than science fiction, so that I sometimes had to remind myself about the way that their upbringing might have affected them. They lacked a true "family unit", and yet still retained the human need for connection, and I think this need often does win out no matter how unhealthy the relationships forged are. I could give them the benefit of the doubt, believe that they were really doing the best they could with what they had been given.

The narration is very stream-of-consciousness, often jumping forward and backward in time, obviously constructed as memories from the past rather than events unfolding for the first time. The voice and tone seem somewhat effortless and even amateur, but I have a sense that an awful lot of cutting, revision, and effort went into making them that way. I liked the way so much of the story took place internally, and I liked the somewhat claustrophobic feel of it, with characters besides our main three merely drifting on and off the page without us having to expend much effort or investment in them. I found Madame to be an utterly fascinating character (does it help that she was supposedly Belgian?), although I wanted a bigger "reveal" from the encounter at the end. Still, all in all, it was a haunting, worthwhile read. Now I'm going to package it up and send it back to the Paperbackswap Universe from whence it came!
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Sep 20, 2010 Maryanne rated it liked it

I think I differ from most readers of this book in that I actually wanted more sci-fi and less reflection. The book definitely meandered a bit, but was generally a quick yet thought-provoking read. At any rate - I was able to read it on a plane without falling asleep which I can generally only do these days with YA books and fantasy.

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Jan 21, 2007 Kaitlin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, must-read, favorites, magical-realism, dystopian, unreliable-narrator

One of my all time favorite books. I found it heart wrenching, realistic, shocking, and ultimately very very effective. Highly recommended.

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Jul 01, 2010 Erika rated it really liked it

Shelves: sciencefiction, speculativefiction

Truly heartbreaking and disturbing, and very sneakily sci-fi. It took me a while to get into this book, but I am really glad I kept on trucking. Ishiguro's subtlety is what makes this book so masterful; you start out not having the slightest clue what is going on, but he very gradually and very discreetly gives you little clues until you finally have the full picture. I made the mistake of finishing this while I was at work and it took a serious exercise of will power to keep from crying in the ...more

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Feb 14, 2008 Kecia rated it really liked it

Shelves: england, 1001-books, times_100_best, nbcca_finalist, booker-shortlist

Never Let Me Go leaves me with more questions than I started the book with...is that the hallmark of a good book?

How many things in our lives now do we not question? If our heronie is Kathy H does that mean there was also Kathy E, Kathy F, Kathy G? Hailsham acted as a school but were the other places more like warehouses?

Only Ishiguro could tell this story so effectivly. I'll agree with others that the meeting with Madame and Miss Emily at the end seemed forced and rushed the story. The most t ...more

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Oct 15, 2010 Hannah rated it really liked it

I didn't love it as much as Remains of the Day, but the writing was brilliant, and I admire Ishiguro's restraint immensely. ...more

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Feb 23, 2007 cam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

If you ever need to know what “tone” is in literature, this is the book to read. It’s so subtly tense and creepy, and even though I knew the twist ahead of time, it is a very easy book to get caught up in.

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