- Fiction
- Science-Fiction
- Dystopian
Never Let Me Go is a dystopian science fiction novel that follows Kathy from her school days through to her work as a carer, and eventually to her role as a donor.
This is a difficult book to talk about without giving too much away. Early on, I found myself confused about what was actually happening, and I will admit I ended up Googling it after a few chapters just to get my bearings. Even then, I am not sure I fully understood everything, but that may well be intentional. It feels like the author wants the reader to sit with that uncertainty and piece things together for themselves.
I had heard a lot about how thought-provoking and emotional this novel is, but unfortunately, it did not quite land that way for me. A large part of that came down to Kathy as a narrator. She often felt emotionally distant and rarely questioned the reality of her life or reacted strongly to the situations she found herself in. Because of this, I found it difficult to fully connect with the story, and my feelings on that did not really change by the end.
The narrative style also made things challenging at times. The story is told through Kathy’s memories, which means it moves back and forth in a way that can feel a little disjointed. She frequently hints at things to come by saying she will return to them later, but those moments did not always feel as impactful or clearly revisited as I expected.
By the end, I was left with more questions than answers. Why are they being cloned? Why are the donations structured the way they are? Who are the clones based on? Why are people so fearful of them? What exactly happened with the teachers who were trying to prove the students had souls, and why did they stop?
While I can appreciate the intention behind the ambiguity, for me it created a sense of distance rather than intrigue. This is clearly a novel that invites interpretation and reflection, but I found myself wanting a bit more clarity and emotional depth to fully engage with it.
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