"Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

orrowing books from a friend is exciting in an unexplainable way. Somehow borrowing forces you to read a book quicker than if it was your own… oh that’s only if you feel guilty about having a borrowed book collecting dust on your book shelf :) A rain washed cloudy day and what better to do than pull out something from your bookshelf (or a friend’s in my case), get set with a cup of tea and be drawn into the world of imagination and emotions that Ishiguro has created.

The best way to enjoy ‘Never Let Me Go’ is to not know anything about the book just like Ishiguro intended it. The context of the story unveils itself as the book moves forward. An expensive school, guardians who are looked up to, friends to die for, a curriculum in creativity – at first the setting seems perfect for a story of snobbish school students who later come back for a reunion to recount how their lives have changed. Remember ‘The Class’ by Erich Segal? Not that I didn’t enjoy it. But seriously, ‘Never Let Me Go’ is far from such trivialities.

Somewhere midway through the book, you begin to sniff that Ishiguro is up to something. The author seems to revel in providing just sufficient information that fires up your curiosity. Once or twice I found myself turning back the pages to see if I’ve missed something. He writes as if you’re expected to know his world – the world that has just been conjured up for you.

The only thing that disturbs me about the book is the lack of anger or passion in a certain way. It constantly eats me that Kathy does not pursue Tommy sufficiently enough though she is so smitten by him. It worries me even more that she is not angry enough at Ruth for ruining her love life. But then that was the whole idea, I guess. I’m not going to give away the plot or even a sense of it… but if you absolutely need to know – it is a brilliant book.