Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Never Let Me Go

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

22 reviews

emilywemily6's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was underwhelming and I think this author just might not be a great fit for me. This writing style is intriguing and kept me interested for more, but it felt like nothing happened (very character focused yet with little character growth; plus no big reveals). I knew from early on in the book what was going on and I never learned anything more than what was easily extrapolated. It took zero imagination and I was disappointed that even with so many subtle promises of a reveal, I was never rewarded. Sci-fi? Who is she? I would call this more of a speculative, coming-of-age fiction. I wanted WAY more world-building and answers to what was happening, why the world got that way, and how they even accomplished it. This book was melancholic and languid and I think it will stay in my mind for a while, but since we didn’t get any world building and few perspectives from the wider world, the subtle thoughts on humanity lacked substance. Many people have found meaning in the minutia of Kathy’s memories but it lacked the oomph I want in a story like this. Lots of Kathy’s internal musings without any real growth or change in understanding throughout the whole book.

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nightstitch96's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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kennahgracie's review against another edition

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reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

OVERALL
I had high expectations for Never Let Me Go, but unfortunately, it did not deliver. While I enjoy novels with reflective, almost melancholy storylines, this one seemed to drag me to its conclusion. I didn't feel connected to the characters, their plight, or the novel's premise. It felt as though Ishiguro had great potential with this story but squandered it, resulting in a meandering prose.

There was an overall lack of curiosity within the characters and their motivations. They seemed to be strung along by their predetermined purposes. This was confusing because their passion and complex human qualities (despite their almost alien disposition) were emphasized and encouraged in the secretive preparatory setting of Hailsham, only to fall flat after their departure from the school.

One would think that students who create and hold passion for things like art, literature, philosophy, and the world around them would fight to explore their right to live as they please. But no, the characters felt like puppets or dogs on a leash being yanked by what their guardians called “fate.” Was there no ambition to escape or defect? To investigate or question? Every time it felt like Kathy was exiting the foggy projection of her, Ruth, and Tommy’s life, she would immediately catapult herself back in.

There were also many plot holes. I understand Ishiguro's intention in writing this novel, but many elements of the novel felt unnecessary. It seemed as if Ishiguro wanted to communicate the blurry and sometimes messy conditions of human life: how friendships and relationships build and crumble, how ambitions and connections wither without clear cause, commentary on social classes, and the mechanisms we abide by in hope to form a place in society. But with the layering of sci-fi elements like cloning, carers, and donors without fleshing out their systems (how they came to be, how they work, the legal and political constraints), the book's contents feel like a half-formed dream.

On a closing note, I can't say I hated reading this book, but it didn't leave me with any new conclusions or ideas. It just wasn’t for me and could have benefited from more development. It definitely won't be a novel I recommend. However, I am still curious about Ishiguro's other works and the film adaptation of this novel, all of which I hope to enjoy more than this.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS

Sterile characterization (passive, unmotivated, uninspired characters)
Lack of climax, creating a predictable plot line
Lack of expansion on sci-fi elements, making the characters' existence as clones more of a backdrop for a slow-paced coming-of-age/romance setting
Surface-level observation of the negative effects of society’s social classes and the isolation caused by such
An overall repetitiveness due to Kathy using her memories as a means to explore the plot

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scytheria's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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charliereadsalot's review against another edition

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3.0

3 STARS

CW: mention of homophobia, death (of loved ones), bullying, mention of infertility

I read this for a class at uni and must admit, I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. Generally, I liked the book, especially because of all the questions it raised. Admittedly, it made me want to continue reading if only to find out what Madame's Gallery was all about and what Hailsham was actually all about. But I never found myself truly loving what I was reading, probably also because it read a lot like literary fiction to me and that just isn't my genre. I feel like over the course of the entire book nothing happened but still, enough was going on (and you know, the incentive of having to write an exam about this) to keep me going.

While reading I was trying to piece together what was going on and it came together in a painstakingly slow way. And all the while, there is still so much to think about regarding Kathy, Ruth and Tommy's (as well as their fellow students) experiences at Hailsham, that entire enterprise of the school and their fates after they left.

They were never truly free, their entire purpose was being an organ donor in their later life and even though Miss Emily explained to Kathy and Tommy that she and Marie-Claude initiated Hailsham to make the students experience more humane, was it really? Why give them a false sense of hope and joy in life when it doesn't amount to anything in the end? And even the system of Carers and Donors keeps them amongst themselves, isolates them from each other in their roles. But they grow up in this system and never even question its legitimacy, they just accept it and conform to it.

I think it's hard to talk about the full scope of this story without giving anything away and as usual I'm highly anticipating the discussion about it in class.

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elisabeth_with_an_ess's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is written in the style of spoken reminiscences, with allusions to things that haven't been described yet, and "but maybe I should explain..."

This device makes you really feel that you are one of Kathy's friends, or maybe just a chance acquaintance, or perhaps one of her donors who has been asking for stories of Hailsham.

All in all, this is a devastating book, will make you ponder all the things that bind us together as humans.

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dlrosebyh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

The students at Hailsham, a private school in the lovely English countryside that Kathy, now 31 years old, attended as a kid, were shielded from the outside world and taught that their wellbeing was essential for both themselves and the community they would eventually inhabit. Kathy had long since left this beautiful past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham pals come back into her life, she quits resisting the tug of recollection.

Kathy remembers their time at Hailsham as her relationship with Ruth is revived and the sentiments that once drove her juvenile Tommy obsession start to develop into love. She paints joyful pictures of boys and girls growing up side by side, unconcerned—even comforted—by their seclusion. However, she also portrays episodes of conflict and misunderstanding that allude to a sinister truth concealed under Hailsham's maternal façade. The three friends are forced to face the truth about their childhoods and their current lives as the clarity of hindsight begins to emerge.

Sometimes, even in their own stories, people don't merit being the main characters. Ruth is such a jerk and also such a boring person. Like, why are you a bland AND a jerk? Imagine being only known as a jerk. I wished Kathy wouldn't have reignited their friendship. And let's not even talk about the writing. It was equally as dull and nasty.

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