Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro

I’d wanted to read this book for some time (it came out in 2005) and finally got to it this year. Given that it’s more than 5 years old, there’s a film and a wiki entry talks about a major plot point – which also comes up quite early in the book – I don’t think it’s a spoiler to mention the book deals with the subject of cloning.

From a style standpoint, it’s a languid and conversational read – almost as though you’re browsing someone’s journal. It works well in this case because the point is for the entire story to be shifting and subjective.

During my med ethics class, we had really interesting and unresolved conversations about the Human Genome project and what its implications would be – including organ donation. This novel doesn’t talk about science at all, which is important to how the story unfolds. While their ‘purpose’ is not kept secret from the students, it’s also not widely discussed as they’re growing up. Their private school environment is sheltering and fostering and, as they age, their gradual shift to society seems no less so. As the end of the book unfolds, it prompts more questions rather than less as the students find out the true nature of their upbringing and the things that set them apart.

4 of 5 stars