The opening lines to Kazuo Ishiguro's latest novel ""Never Let Me Go"" are sparce and straightforward: ""My name is Kathy H. I'm thirty-one years old and I've been a carer now for over eleven years."" However, something sinister lurks beneath the deceptively simple narration, and only in slow, controlled increments does Ishiguro reveal what exactly a ""carer"" is and the disturbing situation surrounding it.
Ishiguro, best known for ""The Remains of the Day,"" continues his exploration of the human memory in ""Never Let Me Go."" Kathy narrates the story, piecing together memories of her childhood with her friends Ruth and Tommy at a British boarding school, Hailsham. However, something about this school is slightly unusual: The children seem to be without family, and the importance of being creative is constantly stressed. Only years later when Kathy reunites with Ruth and Tommy does she and the reader begin to fully understand the implications of her and her friends' lives.
Kathy is a stoic, wise, tender character, and the narration is plain and unpresuming. Despite how ""lucky"" they are to be at Hailsham, the reader realizes that Kathy, Tommy and Ruth in fact live a very humble, solitary existence on the outskirts of society. It is painfully touching to see how the characters cling so innocently to memories and simple possessions, as it hints at how little they actually have.
This is a haunting, subtle and eerily beautiful book. The characters are drawn like memories, wispy yet vivid, and their interactions are touching and ring true. Ishiguro's prose is simple and elegant, and he does a seamless job of writing from a woman's point of view, as he seems to thoroughly understand a girl's childhood, the cliques she encounters and the importance of fitting in. Though sometimes the thoughts and dialogue attributed to the children seem a bit advanced and perhaps too insightful, Ishiguro captures the oddities and obscurities of childhood memories and thoughts.
""Never Let Me Go"" has strong elements of science fiction in it, yet the emphasis is on human experience, and it subtly comments on the ruthlessness of science and medicine. This book is also without the clichAcs of modern novels, the story being told in a matter-of-fact way without affectation, excess or flourish. The gradual revelations in this book have a double effect: It not only creates a feeling of mystery, but it also keeps the exact details at arms length and allows the reader to focus on the pure human elements of the book.
""Never Let Me Go"" is a mastery of control and subtlety, and the ending is pinching. And like every good book, it haunts the reader long after the heart-breaking closing lines.
