Never Let Me Go

Hello friend! I have brought you a new blog post today. Happy reading!

[WARNING: this contains MAJOR spoilers]

Never Let Me Go is a 2005 dystopian novel by famous Japanese-British author Kazuo Ishiguro. It was declared the best book of 2005, and has won several awards since [and still continues to bowl readers over, even when it’s been so long—thirteen years!] It deals with several themes, such as love, friendship, heartbreak, equality, humanity, and nature vs nurture; it also contains a lot of dark humour [I really like dark humour]. I’ve always loved dystopian fiction [it’s one of my favourite genres] as it offers a deeper insight into how complex—yet, at times, simple—human nature is, and when looked at from a sociological perspective, dystopian fiction really is one of the best genres—in effect, it should be analysed carefully in order to gain more knowledge. This book is written in first-person, and the events unfold from the viewpoint of Kathy H., a thirty-one-year-old clone [yes, clone.] She is somewhat unreliable; though the book starts off clearly enough, she often second-guesses or contradicts herself, and her mind tends to meander from one memory to another in a jumbled way. Also, she is clearly very biased toward her friends, Ruth and Tommy; though she does not often sugar-coat their faults, she does have a tendency to portray Ruth in a slightly more favourable light than Tommy, though Tommy is obviously a better person from the readers’ perspective. Anyway, I’d better get on with the story!

The story opens with Kathy H. describing herself as a very experienced “carer”, meaning she looks after organ donors. She has been a carer for nearly twelve years now. She feels terribly lonely at times, and often dreams about the days she spent at Hailsham, a faculty for future organ donors. The teachers are known as guardians, and students of Hailsham, though they are clones, are very sheltered and treated as humanely as possible. They are watched closely, and the importance of being “creative” is often stressed [ they must paint, write poetry, make stuffed animals, etc. It doesn’t really matter which.] They are also told that they cannot have children, and must stay healthy at all times [smoking is taboo, and playing some sport is mandatory]. The students’ creations are displayed in an exhibition known as the Exchange, and the best art is chosen by an enigmatic figure known as Madame, who keeps their art in a gallery. Kathy talks about how she quickly becomes close to a girl called Ruth, who is manipulative and a pathological liar, but charismatic and intelligent [and good to Kathy].  After a few years, Kathy also slowly befriends a problematic boy called Tommy, who is often bullied and neglected for his lack of creativity. After she helps him out of a tight spot, Tommy begins to open up to her. However, when the three of them, who have grown inseparable, turn sixteen, Ruth and Tommy form a relationship, leaving Kathy feeling very bitter and left-out [though she never directly admits this, Kathy H. is not good at hiding her feelings. She’s too obvious. She definitely feels like a third wheel.]

In an isolated but very memorable incident, Miss Lucy, a taciturn guardian, informs the students that only organ donation awaits them beyond the protected walls of Hailsham; they will not be able to pursue their dreams [many of them want to be actors, musicians, poets, authors, doctors etc.] They will die young. Miss Lucy is dismissed from the school because of her abrupt disclosure, but the students—after the initial shock—accept their fate with quiet resignation [Kathy states that by that time, most of them already knew that they were different from the guardians, and their fate was not going to be good for them. However, she insinuates, most of the students lived in a pretend-world of their own, as a means of temporary escape. She was practical, she knew what lay in store for her, and she never tried to escape from it.] The same year, Ruth, Tommy, and Kathy move to the Cottages, another faculty for clones. However, the clones that are kept here are not as naïve and protected as Hailsham students; they are far, far more experienced, and wiser. Ruth immediately begins sucking up to the veterans, something which Kathy and Tommy view unfavourably; the two grow even closer over time. Two older housemates, Chrissie and Rodney, tell Ruth that they have most likely found her “possible”, an older woman who resembles Ruth; she could be the woman from whom Ruth was cloned.  As a result, the five of them drive into town to look for the woman, but the veterans want to discuss a rumour that they heard: that two people who are in love can have their donations deferred for a few years if they can prove that they are truly in love. It’s just a rumour, though, and apparently, only Hailsham students can apply for deferrals. After this tense conversation, the five of them continue their quest for Ruth’s possible; they track her down, but her resemblance to Ruth is only superficial, causing Ruth to embark on an angry tirade about how they were all cloned from “human trash”.

During the trip, Kathy and Tommy, who are not very comfortable with the veterans, separate from them and Ruth; they prefer to spend the time looking for a copy of a music tape that Kathy had lost when at Hailsham. Tommy’s wistful recollection of the time spent at Hailsham together and his intense desire to find it for Kathy makes the strength and sincerity of his feelings for her clear. They find the tape; Kathy is incredibly touched, but does not show it [a tsundere in an English book!] Following this, Tommy shares a theory with Kathy—he believes that the reason Madame collected their art was to determine which couples were actually in love, quoting a guardian by the name of Miss Geraldine, who used to say that art revived their souls. Kathy is struck by this profound theory. However, after this detour, she and Tommy do not tell Ruth about this theory [indicating that a wedge has already sprung up between Ruth and Tommy. This rift only deepens later. You’ll see.] Ruth notices the growing friendship between Kathy and Tommy, and does everything in her power to drive them apart. Fed up with her machinations, Kathy decides to leave the two for good, applying to become a carer. This means that she will not see Ruth or Tommy for about ten years.

After that, though Kathy is not in contact with either of them, she hears that Ruth’s first donation has gone badly, and she will not survive very long. Feeling remorseful, Kathy becomes Ruth’s carer, and both are aware that the next donation will be Ruth’s last. They bond over this shared realization, and Ruth suggests that they go for a drive and meet up with Tommy. Kathy reluctantly agrees.  During the trip, Ruth, who has been wracked with guilt over the instrumental role which she played in keeping Kathy and Tommy apart, apologises to both of them. Eager to make amends, she hands them Madame’s address, asking them to apply for a deferral, as she wants them to try to be happy after everything she’s done. She asks them to forgive her; both of them immediately state that they forgave her a long time ago. Shortly after, Ruth makes her second donation and “completes”, an implied euphemism for dying. Struggling to cope with Ruth’s loss, Kathy becomes Tommy’s carer, and the two form a relationship. Encouraged by Ruth’s last wish, they go to Madame’s house to seek a deferral, bringing Tommy’s artwork with them to support their claim that they are a match made in heaven […or not.] They find Madame at her house, and are shocked to see Hailsham’s former head guardian, Miss Emily, who also lives there. Miss Emily is fairly pleased to see them, but Madame is not; she tries to hide her disgust of the two, but fails spectacularly. The two women reveal that unlike at other institutions, the guardians at Hailsham tried to give the students a humane, conducive environment in which to grow up. The “gallery” was meant to convey to the outside world that clones are as human as supposedly “real” human beings; they have souls, too. It is also revealed that this experiment has failed, which is why Hailsham was closed. When Tommy inquires about the deferrals, Miss Emily reveals that such deferrals never existed.

Tommy, who has come through three donations already, knows that his next donation will end his life, and asks Kathy to resign from her job as his carer so she will not have to deal with seeing him die. She does accordingly, after bidding him an emotional—and final—farewell. The novel ends with Tommy’s “completion”; Kathy, who has grown tired of life’s miseries, resigns from her job as a carer altogether; she is aware that society has forsaken her and thousands of other clones who are struggling to survive. In a way, she has forsaken society too, but will treasure the memories of Ruth and Tommy till her completion. Now that she is on her way to becoming a donor, she is serene, almost happy.

Isn’t this book amazing?!?! This is the best dystopian book I’ve ever had the good fortune to come across! It does not attempt to cover up the more unpleasant aspects of society, and the ending came as something of a surprise; I definitely knew that these “deferrals” were too good to exist in such a cruelly practical world, but I still feel so sad for Tommy [even Ruth, in fact]. That’s all for now. See you next time!

Thank you! I hope you liked my article!