Via.
I have the unfortunate habit of buying books whenever possible. While this is not a unique problem, it's become harder to justify since - as time goes on and my buying goes up but my reading stays the same - the number of books I have on my "to read" shelves has gotten a little out of control (current count is around 130). DESPITE THAT, whenever I go home or fly (anywhere), I stop at airport bookstores and take a look around. I know they're hideous money traps, but to me it's really exciting to get a new book at the start of a trip, no matter how short. I can always remember books on my shelf that I've traveled with, where I was going, and so on.
Unsurprisingly, I usually buy something when I go to airport bookstores. This time, it was Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro. I'd seen the trailer for the movie that came out a few years ago but, for whatever reason, had never seen it. I was so sure that I would never get around to watching it, in fact, that I read the movie summary on Wikipedia, so that I would be sure I would get whatever Never Let Me Go references came my way. (Spoiler: there weren't any.)
Considering all the schoolwork I had to do over break, it was a pretty terrible time to pick up and find a book that I really liked. (I blame this book on being the reason why I didn't end up writing my study abroad application essays until half an hour before a meeting with my advisor.)
Never Let Me Go is the first book that I've read by Kazuo Ishiguro, and it certainly won't be the last. I really enjoyed how the reader's perspective of events shifted over the course of the story; what started out as an innocent schooldays story turned darker, more emotional until I was racing towards the end of the novel, trying to piece together the real story. Ishiguro did an excellent job of never giving the reader too many details and never showing all of his cards at once.
Some reviews that I've read for Never Let Me Go have called the novel "Gothic," and I'm inclined to agree. While I am not really "versed" (let's say) in Gothic literature, I can definitely draw parallels between Cathy's story in Never Let Me Go and Jane's in Jane Eyre. I'm also not one for "nostalgia" per se (I don't really see the attraction of the the hazy vibe that seems to be going around on the internet), but I do think that this novel gave me a new appreciation for nostalgic tones in novels. I think a lot of that appreciation had to do with the way that Cathy told her story; the way she layered details on top of each other, casually referring to them or "stopping" the story to give some backstory. I think that Cathy (the character, not the narrator) matured as she discovered more and more about the circumstances she had been born into. And as she matured, so did the reader.
I also really liked how the conflicts within the book concerning both the characters and the Never Let Me Go-world drew me in and made me think about why an action or ideology made me feel uncomfortable. It made me question my beliefs, and I think that that's an important quality in any book. It is for that reason that I loaned it out immediately to one of my friends once I got back from school, and look forward to re-reading it in the future. While I'd specifically recommend Never Let Me Go to people who aren't "into" science fiction, I'd say that anyone interested should definitely pick up a copy at their leisure.
Considering all the schoolwork I had to do over break, it was a pretty terrible time to pick up and find a book that I really liked. (I blame this book on being the reason why I didn't end up writing my study abroad application essays until half an hour before a meeting with my advisor.)
Never Let Me Go is the first book that I've read by Kazuo Ishiguro, and it certainly won't be the last. I really enjoyed how the reader's perspective of events shifted over the course of the story; what started out as an innocent schooldays story turned darker, more emotional until I was racing towards the end of the novel, trying to piece together the real story. Ishiguro did an excellent job of never giving the reader too many details and never showing all of his cards at once.
Some reviews that I've read for Never Let Me Go have called the novel "Gothic," and I'm inclined to agree. While I am not really "versed" (let's say) in Gothic literature, I can definitely draw parallels between Cathy's story in Never Let Me Go and Jane's in Jane Eyre. I'm also not one for "nostalgia" per se (I don't really see the attraction of the the hazy vibe that seems to be going around on the internet), but I do think that this novel gave me a new appreciation for nostalgic tones in novels. I think a lot of that appreciation had to do with the way that Cathy told her story; the way she layered details on top of each other, casually referring to them or "stopping" the story to give some backstory. I think that Cathy (the character, not the narrator) matured as she discovered more and more about the circumstances she had been born into. And as she matured, so did the reader.
I also really liked how the conflicts within the book concerning both the characters and the Never Let Me Go-world drew me in and made me think about why an action or ideology made me feel uncomfortable. It made me question my beliefs, and I think that that's an important quality in any book. It is for that reason that I loaned it out immediately to one of my friends once I got back from school, and look forward to re-reading it in the future. While I'd specifically recommend Never Let Me Go to people who aren't "into" science fiction, I'd say that anyone interested should definitely pick up a copy at their leisure.
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