This is a book where I am confident that every complaint I have was an intentional choice by the author- but that doesn’t help the fact that I just did not enjoy reading it.

Never Let Me Go includes traditional elements of the science fiction and dystopian genres, but the narrative is more similar to that of a philosophical character study.

I found it frustrating to get a window into this messed-up reality and see our main character remain complacent. This is likely a commentary on how real people born into unjust systems don't always question them; not everyone breaks the rules, instead, they focus on how they can improve their situations while remaining within the constraints of the system.

Many of the emotional beats of the story read as cold and clinical. Again, I am sure this is meant to illustrate the consequences of the environment in which the characters were raised, but it impeded my ability to connect to the story.

Before I get unfairly negative, I will admit this book raises some interesting questions. Ishiguru encourages the reader to consider the impact of nature and nurture, scientific advancement, and the ethics of the “greater good” narrative.

I found a lot more meaning in the conversations that I had about this book than I did within the text itself. I had the lucky experience of reading this with a book club, and it was really fun to talk about.

Ultimately the slow pacing and slice-of-life storytelling style weren’t to my taste.