The novel is told from the viewpoint of Kathy H, a thirty one year old who looks back at her days in Hailsham, the school she attended with her best friends Tommy and Ruth.
The book begins with Kathy telling us about her early days at Hailsham but from the opening few pages, it is clear there is something different about the school. She calls the teachers "guardians" and not once does she refer to family or life outside Hailsham. I thought this was a good way for Ishiguro to start the novel. It immediately draws the reader into an mysterious, unknown world, you want to keep reading to find out as much as possible about the 55555 created in our imagination.
As the pages turn, Kathy introduces us to terms such as 'donations' and 'completions', terms constantly used in the dialogue between students. I'm sure many others who have read this book guessed, just as I did, what this meant. The students however, didn't understand what would be donated and why, and when a question was asked of this to a guardian, the guardian acts completely evasive. This is until a character introduced, a Guardian named Miss Lucy.Miss Lucy explains to the students that they are not ordinary pupils they read about in books, they are "special" who students who are created to donate their vital organs until they complete. This comes as a shock to the students, as Hailsham is a place where they are protected from straight talking people such as Miss Lucy.
This information is shared before even the halfway point in the novel. To me, it is an interesting decision made by Ishiguro. He tells the plot very early on in the novel and is probably where I struggled the most. I thought to myself why should I keep reading if I know the characters will die in the end anyway? Ishiguro however, creates such strong characters and relationships that there had to be more to their lives than just donating and completing.
The relationship between Kathy and Tommy at the beginning is nothing of a love relationship, it is two children who are best friends, whereas Kathy's other friend Ruth, develops feelings for Tommy and the two are a couple for the majority of the book. The friendship between the three characters is followed until they leave Hailsham and move into cottages. They are still wrapped up in their protected lives far from society and the friends are separated when Kathy becomes a carer for donors.
Even though Kathy and Tommy are nothing more than friends, it only took common sense to know that the had deeper feelings for each other. They pursue their love after Ruth's blessings when all three are reunited near the end of the story. It was somewhat expected and didn't come in anyway as a surprise. Kathy becomes Tommy's carer until he completes and they had a very lovely relationship but I can't help but wonder why Ishiguro left it so late for them to become partners. If he had introduced this storyline earlier, he could have added something to make the heart race, perhaps a twist and letting them grow an old couple together or even introduce the pregnancy of Kathy, have a scandal within the boring, monotonous lifestyle the donors live.
Ishiguro walks us through Kathy's life the way she lived it, slowly. I felt as a reader, a bit frustrated that more questions of the purpose of Hailsham were not raised and answered and the end revealed a disappointing outcome for the climax of the story. (Which I'm not going to tell, I have spoiled the story too much already!)
The whole novel is written in an enigmatic style which kept me interested for the majority of the book and the writing style is one of it's strongest points but it is also, for another reason one of the most annoying points. Nearly every paragraph ends with "which leads me to.." or "which brings me to my next point..." or "which reminds me of the day.." I think Ishiguro uses this stlye a bit too often and caused me to feel irritated.
The descriptive language and detailed accounts of the surroundings of Hailsham sends you to a place that can only be imagined. This creates Hailsham itself, a tool for the guardians to distract the innocent, clueless students from asking more about their fate. The novel, although it is fictional, brings you into an idyllic place that you could only dream of. 'Never Let Me Go' is a good book to read but I did feel disappointed when I was finished. I expected more from the story and felt it could have been extended with more questions raised and some more exciting anecdotes.
