Hot off the Shelf: What I'm Reading - "Never Let Me Go", Ishiguro, Kazuo

No Spoilers.

I loved this book and felt indescribably let down by it all at the same time. I’ve never read Ishiguro. I chose to read the book because I came across it on the library bookshelves and the blurb sounded like something that might interest me. I’ve literally just put the damn thing down and all I can think is UGH. WHAT ARE THESE FEELINGS?

For a start, it was depressing. Do not read this book if you want to be cheered up. The narrator had this habit of making things perhaps seem okay for a bit, because you didn’t know the whole truth. Then the whole truth was revealed, bit by bit. Jarring, almost (something I didn’t enjoy) and it is all at once like a small feeling of “Oh. Well then. That’s depressing.” Some things you could see coming anyway, so the little ‘reveals’ were a tad overdue and therefore provoked my emotions not even a little bit. But some were good. The ending was the most depressing of all. It didn’t make me cry, this wasn’t ‘The Color Purple’ (sweet flip-flops if you want emotions - read that book), but it just left me feeling really empty and sad for the character.

One thing I enjoyed was the writing style. It was almost like having a conversation with the protagonist. Like you were sat in a room with her and she was telling you her story – going back and forward through her memories so that you’d get everything. This writing style is really bugging people according to other reviews I’ve read. Everyone either seems to find the writing style beautiful and engaging or the most painful, dreary, boring experience of reading the novel. I personally really enjoyed it. I think it’s one of the better ways of enjoying a novel more fully and exploring characters well. Even if you end up with a slightly biased narration at the end of it all.

People have compared this novel to works by Atwood and Huxley.

NO.

NO.

JUST…NO.

No-where near as good. “Never let me go” was alright, and is currently leaving me all muddled emotion-wise, but nothing close to Atwood/Huxley.

In conclusion – give it a go. If the writing style begins to put you off just stop reading because it pretty much stays the same throughout the entire thing. If you want something cheerful, stay away. For all it’s bad points it does seem to be getting everyone all worked up and irate about how good/bad they think it is, so I’ll give it that – it makes a total bitch of your emotions whichever way you go.

Over and out.