Blurb
Kathy, Ruth and Tommy grew up together at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic school deep in the English countryside with a dreadful secret at its heart. Now thirty-one, Kathy attempts to come to terms with her childhood at Hailsham and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world.
My Review
All the excellent reviews of 'Never Let Me Go' along with the prizes it's won, made me wary. But I understand where all the prizes and reviews came from. It's a beautiful book.
However, I did have my problems with it. After reading the first chapter, I had to force myself to pick the book up again. This continued to happen until I was about 100 pages in and I'm going to be honest, I almost put it down. Though I can't criticise Ishiguro on why I wasn't gripped because I couldn't find much wrong with the entire book. I suppose maybe it just wasn't for me.
Perhaps one of the reasons I found it so hard to get into was because of Kath's narration. It jumped all over the place - though if you were telling the story out loud that's how you'd tell it. Saying that though, I liked how she was unreliable and it made me wonder how much our memories change and warp over time.
Once the strange mystery was set up and I began asking questions, I was much more interested and into it, reading more than I set out to each time I picked it up. I loved how everything was downplayed and no huge drama. It's just little bits of life here and there that have a way of really touching you. This is refreshing for someone who reads a lot of high drama in YA books set in another world.
Although I can't decide whether or not I enjoyed it, I have a feeling 'Never Let Me Go' will stay with me because it left me empty and sad and thoughtful.
Evaluation
Overall 8/10
Would I recommend it? No. Probably not.
Would I look up the author? No. I know all of Ishiguro's books are supposed to be good but I wasn't gripped enough.
'Never Let Me Go' was beautiful and thoughtful but a struggle to get into.
Molly Looby
Author / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready
molly.looby@hotmail.com
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