Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Non lasciarmi

Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Non lasciarmi by Kazuo Ishiguro

103 reviews

sabrina118's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

kennahgracie's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

eveningreverie's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

Exquisite from the setting to the word choice to the narrative voice to the introspection about childhood to the lost futures at the core. Ishiguro can truly do no wrong. This, the fourth book of his that I have read, has decidedly cemented him as one of my absolute favorite authors.

Another reviewer writes that “Kath was way too passive.” Funny how that works. I wonder if we could find some clues in this story as to why that might be the case. Guess we’ll never know!

Content Warnings

kers_tin's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

imaginefishes's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

The style of writing is simple and straightforward as the narrator tells you about her life growing up, then as a medical care worker. It's a dystopia, yes, but the overall story feels not so much disturbing as it does mildly nostalgic and tinged with bittersweetness. It's well-written, and tells the story of an exploited clone girl growing up, managing her (complex and honestly, somewhat toxic) relationships, finding her place in the world, and how she faces the indeliable truth that her life was created solely for the purpose of serving others, be it as a donor or a care worker for the donors.

Content Warnings

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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

3.75

I wouldn’t say this book is plot or character driven as much as it is thematically driven. The book is so mysterious throughout but I still feel at the end that there were no real insights made and nothing was resolved.

Content Warnings

cicadalove's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

4.25

a “science fiction” premise that goes largely unexplored in favor of detailing the myriad of ways you come to understand people through experiencing them through different moments- one of the more real novels when it comes to depecting humans and interpersonal relationships. the world is only as fleshed out as it needs to be to understand the characters, and to know them is a privilege even as they have very little to say. this act of knowing and remembering is posited as the way to dignify those deemed expendable or othered by society. reminded me how much i love living and the privilege of loving people for years & getting to Know and See them

Content Warnings