Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Several people told me that this novel was really good but I didn't know what to expect. I think that I've been reading a lot of books where the ending is already known yet one reads on, hoping that something will be different. It was like that with The Time Traveler's Wife . I feel like there were several other books where this happened (mainly more recently written novels) and I wonder if this has to do with creating more suspense by giving some facts of the future.

Plot-wise, I found the book to be very sound and I really liked how it was narrated. Even with a limited point of view and a questionable narrator, Ishiguro was really good at manipulating flashbacks to create a sense of reality. Even if it was really a recalling of Kathy's memory, Ishiguro's style of narration made it feel as if one was really back at the time when the memory was actually happening.

It's interesting in the way that he wrote in the point of view of clones because there are some stories that seem to have this idea of wanting to break away from that cycle and become "normal" or "humanized" so to speak, yet here all there really is is a sense of sadness and wistful if-things-were-different type of attitude. I felt like the book ended with a sense of melancholy acceptance of one's fate. I wonder if other readers would feel that this was in any way unfair and it definitely brings to a new light the question of whether or not cloning to extend one's life is morally acceptable or not.

Because it was such an easy read and even though it didn't contain a lot of action that some non-readers seek, I would definitely recommend this book because the plot still has movement and is still compelling enough to make a reader continue reading. It makes one really look into certain ethical questions that have come up these days in a different light and all the while maintains a sense of realism. In some ways, other stories of rebellion and what not are less likely than this story but at the same one, one is still left wondering whether or not that makes it morally acceptable.

Definitely a very thought-provoking read.

Oh yes, and in terms of ethics, Flowers for Algernon would be another good read. It's also an easy read and makes you think about science/surgery in a new light.