Infobox
Never Let Me Go
Info
Status read Year Read 2013 Rating ★★★★ Shelves East Asian lit, Asian lit, British lit, Western lit, Contemporary, Genre bender, Science fiction (Sci-fi), Dystopian, Speculative fiction (SFF), Favorites, Worth a re-read, Literary fiction, Fiction, Adult, Loved the movie, Award-winning
My Review
This was my fourth or fifth attempt at reading this book, and I never before got past the first thirty pages. But I got to pick it up and finish it today, because it’s summer happy dance
Mostly, I’m glad I got to finally read it. Not only so that it’s off my list, or so I started off summer break by reading, but because it’s a beautiful book.
I won’t comment so much on the plot because I don’t want to give anything away. I can only say that I absolutely loved the writing (once I got past the slow beginning). The story-telling was calm and rather haunting; while it had its twists, they were delivered very subtly.
Imagine listening to a conversation you knew nothing about, while pretending you knew exactly what they were saying. And then at some moment, someone gives away a clue that gives you an “Aha!” moment deep inside, but you can’t tell anyone you only just figured it out now. It kind of has that feeling. While that tactic could get confusing now and then, I got to really appreciate it at the moment of reveal.
I also love how we follow Kathy as the heroine, but we don’t know exactly what she is thinking or feeling. We only know what we hear from her conversations with other people. It has just the right amount of mystery and narration; it’s kind of perfect.
The book deal with several themes—love, friendship, purpose, loss—but it does it so delicately, you don’t have to stop and think about it. You simply move along after a while.
“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, because we’ve loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can’t stay together forever.”
If you, like me, are having trouble getting past the slow beginning, I urge you to go on. Find a day when you have nothing to do, and promise yourself you won’t put the book down until you’ve reached at least page fifty. It’s such a beautiful story, I wish I had read it sooner.