To say that this book broke my heart is an understatement. It did that, and more. It crushed it into oblivion, absolutely ground up its pieces. All because of the masterfully encrypted idea of helplessness, the idea that even if what is happening to us is so obviously unjust, we can only accept it because that’s all we’ve ever known. Compared to other “heartbreaking” books, this one hit more close to home, because in the situation illustrated by the book, most would have done the same.
Before continuing this review, though, I just have to say that this book was not at all what I expected. Compared to the actual novel, the synopsis is somewhat contemporary–it describes it as a “story of love, friendship, and memory”–which gives quite a different impression than the book itself. But I feel that this is what gives the book life. The fact that we are not directly introduced the full premise of the story and are dared to uncover it only add to the story. Frankly, my advice for readers would be to keep themselves in the dark. The plot twists that Ishiguro instills in the novel is what adds to that horrifyingly calm acceptance, that tense paranoia, that hitch of breath as the story leads to new heights.
To put it shortly, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro explores the fate of three friends as they are forced to accept how everything will be taken away from them–their life, their dreams, and their sense of being. Narrated by Kathy, now 31 as she reflects back on her cynical and sheltered past at Hailsham, an English boarding school created for “special” purposes, this book fully embraces the question of what it means to be human, and the gradual acceptance of being dejected from the masses of society.
Helplessness. That’s one word to describe this book described. The characters here know what they’re fated for, and there’s nothing they can do to change it. Nothing.
This book broke me. The characters felt so animated, so alive. The prose is so enriching and raw, it draws you in with the utterly human essence that Kathy establishes. The relationships they built, the art they created–just to prove that they could be human, that they are human. This book, time and time again, had hit its mark on the theme of the futility of human life.
“I keep thinking about this river somewhere, with the water moving really fast. And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it’s just too much. The current’s too strong. They’ve got to let go, drift apart. That’s how it is with us. It’s a shame, Kath, because we’ve loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can’t stay together forever.”
Kazuo ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
~ 5 stars
