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Never Let Me Go
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Never Let Me Go - 03 - Part Three and Final Thoughts
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The whole tone of the book was sad, so I didn't expect an up-roaring finale - the ending was perfect exactly the way it was. Calm, without any illusion of the future that awaits the main character, although with sad, mournful reminiscences of the past despite her denial of that mourning.
The whole part is marked with the following haunting words:
So that feeling came again, even though I tried to keep it out: that we were doing all of this too late; that there'd once been a time for it, but we'd let that go by.
But in the end, that didn't matter at all, after they discovered the basic truth about them and their lives. The final scene of defeat and surrender to the life as it was for them - the despairing embrace in the mud in the middle of nowhere - was very painful to read.
Even the damage Ruth had done to Tommy and Kath in the past, didn't seem relevant. All the hopes and dreams they had, even Ruth's mischief didn't matter at all.
The only question that mattered after all was - was it better that way, that they didn't know the truth, or the other way, that they were fully aware of it from the beginning? Is the sheltered childhood better than no happy childhood at all? I personally would like to know what awaits me, so to try to do something to adapt to it, to try to change, to prevent or at least to revolt against the events somehow... This way, this sense of utter surrender without any hope because it's somehow too late for a change... I don't know. It's too hard to bear even a notion of it.
This was really remarkable book. I am glad I read it, I have rarely been so compassionate to the characters in the books as I was to Kath and Tommy in this one. In my opinion, this novel is a real gem in the modern literature.
I feel like I'm still digesting this book. It was so deep and troubling, though taken as a warning it has an element of hope to it. I thought the description of how you can't take something away from someone once it's been given to them, like a cure for a disease, no matter how ethically questionable that cure is, was very powerful. And that last line was so chilling: "I just waited a bit, then turned bakc to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be." Doesn't that just sum up her whole life? From before she ever existed, when they were planning her cloning, she was always where and what she was "supposed" to be, according to the society that created her. Her entire life was dictated by what was predetermined for her, including her eventual, inevitable death by harvestation. No dreams, no hopes beyond the immediate life. Even the tiny bit of hope she, Ruth and Tommy clung to was taken away by knowledge in the end, and sadly, there is nothing they can do but simply accept it.Did anyone else find that difficult to swallow? Do you think they would have questioned the morality of the situation any more than they did, why they had to die so others could live, without ever having the choice? Did they simply accept it because that was the way they were brought up? Or if they'd had more access to things to stretch their minds if they would have probed further and wondered what the point of their living was?
The whole thing is so sad I'm not really sure how I think about it. An excellent book, certainly, but not even sure what to put in a review. Will need to ponder for awhile, I think.
Mod
Beautiful remark, and disturbing questions to ponder... I needed some time to digest the story too. I was under impression that the way they were raised and their nature prevented them from doing anything that wasn't according to the plans the others had for them. As if it never occurred to them things actually might be different. The real sense for rebellion, against oppression and such dreamless life they had, simply wasn't in them. Really, as you asked, was it the result of their upbringing or they simply didn't have it in their hearts? The atmosphere at the end, the sense of despair, defeat and surrender, was really hard to swallow :(
Or, if we want to take it a step further, if the cloning technology is that advanced, perhaps such desires were cloned and then "genetically enhanced" out of them? I mean, once you start growing people for harvesting, why would you stop there?
Mod
Indeed, my thoughts too. Pretty scary, but not so impossible. Human ethics and morality tend to be just big words nowadays.
Most people need some time to savour the book they have read. Some questions and dilemmas may arise after reading the book as a whole, whilst some arisen during the reading may be finally answered. So, the main intention of this thread is to have a healthy and constructive discussion about all the things you were concerned about the book.