Never Let Me Go

by Kazuo Ishiguro

Book Overview

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER - From the acclaimed, bestselling author of The Remains of the Day comes "a Gothic tour de force" (The New York Times) with an extraordinary twist--a moving, suspenseful,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400043395
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Knopf
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.7" x 1.1" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

3 stars

NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro I struggled to get through the first 150ish pages and I was thisclose to DNF’ing, but I pushed through and.. meh. For a short book with such a disturbing yet intriguing premise, this was tedious as hell to read. Hailsham is an elite boarding school located somewhere in England. Classes are taught by “guardians” and in between the mostly arts and crafts curriculum, students are encouraged to remain healthy for their future careers as “carers” and “donors”. I understand why this is so highly rated by some because it does raise questions about humanity and individuality. What does it mean to be human? What’s our purpose in this life? What makes up a life? Do we have souls? Overall, due to the narration and execution, I felt quite bored and detached from the characters and their plight. Perhaps the movie adaptation will do a better job at retaining my attention. Rating: 3/5 ⭐️

I didn't hate it but I didn't enjoy it

Not a bad book but I didn't get anything out of having read it. Slow start, the writing style is engaging enough to keep you interested but I never really believed in the characters relationships in a way that makes me invested in their struggle in the later half. It just leaves you feeling melancholy but not in the bittersweet way, just an empty "well that was pointless" sort of way.

Wish I’d have read it sooner

Beautifully written, the writing style reminded me of JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. Kept me curious until the heartbreaking end, and kept me thinking about it well after I finished.

My favorite of Kazuo

Melancholy, vibrant and poetic. This is the type of book that will stay with you forever.

Couldn't put it down

Not a feel good story by any means but gripping and emotional.

Mildly entertaining

I'm not a huge fan of dystopian reads. I liked the story, I liked the characters, and the plot but I wasn't wowed by this book. It kind of reminds me of the movie "The Island" which also isn't the usual genre I would pick. Try it for yourself if you are a fan of dystopian reads for sure.

Strange; didn't keep my attention

All in all, not the worst book I've read. While I liked the concept, it could have been so much better. I finished it just to see where the author was going. The synopsis makes it sound much more interesting and mysterious. But you find out the "mystery" maybe halfway through (if not sooner) and then nothing really is revealed from that point on. It was a letdown. It's also written in a bit of a "stream of consciousness" way (not my favorite style to begin with) so that makes it a bit hard to stay interested. I often finish a book in a day or two. I'd only pick this one back up when I had nothing else to do and was just trying to get through it to see if anything interesting happened. It did not.