Know this is an absolute classic and people love Never Let Me Go but I couldn’t get into it - will try again!

This is my first book by this author and I was unsure what to expect as I had heard a lot about them
I loved the authors writing style. But the rest of it was a bit disappointing

I struggled with this book - I think it's me rather than the book though. I DNF'd at 25% but I think it's my mood. I'll try it again at a later date

A great book set beyond the world we live in now.

It's a heartbreaking novel and I highly recommend it.

One of my absolute favourites! I picked up this book knowing nothing about it, even the blurb doesn't give much aware and was addicted to the slow and descriptive writing style. Highly recommend , but go into it blind!

I received an email saying I had been approved for this book. I was travelling so I logged onto NetGalley the following day to download it.

When I tried to download it, it turns out it had been archived. I think if a publisher is going to archive a book within 24-48 hours of approving a request, it should be made clear in the email .

I’ve since bought the book, hence I love given a star rating and will upload my review to Goodreads and Amazon

Never Let Me Go has a lot of potential and is definitely seriously creepy, but the slow burn of the pace and length of time it took for any questions to be answered kind of deflated this from an easy four star to a niggling three star. For the vast majority of the novel, you just seem to be plodding along with very little happening. By the time the novel finally reveals the point of it all, I'd more or less figured it out. The language use throughout gave a lot away and was more than enough to give the reader a fair indication of what was going on. So it made little sense that the big reveal was drawn out so far. By the time the novel actually does the shock reveal, it is certainly no longer a shock.

And whilst it's creepy and admittedly well written, I found myself largely bored throughout the majority of it. You follow Kathy and her friend's through a strange boarding school. The kids are well educated and well looked after, but there's something creepy in the background. But that creepy aspect is largely tuned out, because you get all of the minutiae of day to day boarding school life; fights with her best friend, the dating and the splitting up and the not quite a love triangle, art classes and the general mundane intricacies of growing up.

You then flit forwards to the 'present' where Kathy is coming to the end of her tenure as a carer and about to move into the next 'phase' of her life. This could have been more interesting, but again ended up being more of the same fairly dull minutiae for the majority. There are moments of brilliance, particularly when Kathy is caring for her old boarding school friends, but there's a lot of detail and not a lot of action... which kind of sums the whole thing up really.

This was my first Ishiguro novel and it probably won't be my last. Why? Because Ishiguro certainly does know how to turn a phrase. The writing here was excellent and some passages beautiful. It's just a pity the slow pace and overly analytical view of every small and mundane detail made it a bit of a slog to get through.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.

What a thought provoking book. I was unaware of what it was going to be about and I would recommend anyone looking to read it to go in cold too.

It’s not sci-fi as one expects typical sci-fi. I would actually suggest that it’s dystopian.

Set in a boarding school in England (we don’t know where), the children produce art work that, if good enough, is chosen for “the gallery”. Hailsham is their home until they are prepared for leaving for the outside world.

It then becomes apparent what is going to happen to them. I did not anticipate this.

I did find a couple of aspects confusing, eg at the end when Kathy H and Tommy are discussing Ruth. I didn’t understand why Kathy wanted her to know what had happened. But maybe that is just me or maybe this is for the reader’s interpretation.

A very good book, I rate it 4 stars.

This was absolutely outstanding. For my first Ishiguro book, it was a fantastic place to start as what incredible writing!

Never Let Me Go follows Kathy H, and it is told as if it is her memoir. It explores her childhood spent in a boarding school and her adult years as a carer.
I was completely hooked on the story and I felt that it was beautifully composed. It raised SO many questions surrounding humanity that had me thinking about what shapes us as individuals. One of the major themes, well for me anyway, was the process of growing up, and how we change throughout these important stages of our lives. I know that this is classified as sci-fi, which may put people off, but I personally feel that the sci-fi themes aren't the central point of the story. So if you've been concerned that it won't be for you, then I highly recommend picking it up.

A newfound favourite and an absolute stunner of a book. If you can, try to not read too much into the story before reading, as it's definitely better to go in knowing as little as possible.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

An idyllic boarding school with well looked after and educated students. But students who are not part of the outside world who's role in life does not even belong there. It us only when they leave that the students understand what Hailsham is, what they are.
A masterful novel with hidden horrors and revelations.

This book is not for the squeamish, but I highly recommend it.

I found the narrator, Kathy H., and her friends Tommy and Ruth, authentic and endearing, even though Ruth was somewhat a mean girl. They grew up at Hailsham, a boarding school somewhere in an alternate reality English countryside. Kathy reminisces about their school days, and there is something a bit off about their experiences and the way they understand their lives. It is what is in store for the students after Hailsham that caused me so much discomfort. It is a sad story and a hard novel to read. It is no wonder Ishiguro won a Nobel Prize in literature. His writing gets to me in a very personal way, makes me feel all the emotions.

This was a rereading of one of my favourite books. I received a free copy of this edition of Never Let Me Go from NetGalley and Faber Books in exchange for my review.

sorry wasnt a major fan!
The storyline seemed so interesting, twisty and unique but in the end was a bit boring!
while yes the ending did make me sad honestly i just didnt enjoy the book itself!
i just simply did not care for this book at all

Love Ishiguro's writing and this book is not short of perfect. Absorbing from the beginning, emotional, and engaging. Writing is amazing.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

I think it’s best not to know too much about this book before you start reading. Set in a typical English country boarding school, we get to know three characters in particular, whose lives end up having the potential to resonate with all of us. The relationships between the three main characters are touchingly depicted and you become completely involved in their conflicts and dilemmas.

i'm happy I read this book because is excellent.
I love Kazuo Ishiguro style of writing and I loved this mix of different genres, a dark and gripping story that made me think.
Even if it was publisher more than 10 years ago it aged well and the dark atmosphere it's so similar to those of our time.
Great character development and storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Kazuo Ishiguro does sci-fi - badly. The sci-fi is all in the ending, which takes an age to get to, so that we're stuck with tedious high school students waffling on about projects they're doing and dealing with their petty interpersonal squabbles. Never interesting, always a slog, I didn't like this one in the least. The most mundane sci-fi novel I've ever read.

I read Kazou's The Unconsoled over twenty years ago, and loved the dreaminess and confusion, a tale of a man unsure what his life held, and where he was and where he was going. Never Let Me Go has similar themes - how despite your dreams in life, you're still moulded by your environment and your future is determine by other people's expectations of you.

I liked the concept, liked the theme, but the pace was very slow, and none of the characters really grabbed me, so it did become a struggle to read.

Better than a 3*, so rounding up to a 4!

What else I can add about this Booker-shortlisted book from a Nobel prize-winning author?

Fifteen years after its initial release, one can still understand the awards attention. Over time, its themes have only increased in relevance and, though subtle, the writing packs a real punch to the soul.

I think this book is most fascinating because of what it's not. Though it contains elements of sci fi, it is not science fiction as such. The technology of this world is the foundation for the plot, yet its workings and implications are kept in the background.

It could also be a tale of confronting injustice. This society has chosen to overlook the dubious activities which are morally murky yet crucial for their continued health and security. Ishiguro doesn't lead us down a path to uprising and action-packed rebellion against the status quo, though the ethical abdication of the people is laid out clearly and implicitly condemned.

In the book, Kathy H looks back on her life at Hailsham, a boarding school for children who have a very specific purpose. Along with her best friends, Tommy and Ruth, she comes to understand the world in a distorted way. Naivety and innocence give way to a passive acceptance of their fate. They never fully understand their place in the world until the novel's close and this robs them of any real chance to resist, to fight. Their lives are heartbreaking and society is damned simply because they accept their roles so readily.

The story's strength lies in its characters, rather than this gradually revelation of the truth. It always surprises me how Ishiguro is able to jump around so much in his books without them unravelling. He did a very similar thing with The Remains of the Day, where the story takes the form of one character reminiscing. So it is here; the narrative follows the strands of Kathy's various scattered thoughts to let these episodes show the true humanity and tragedy of these characters. It really ought not to work nearly so well as it does.

The book has a lot to say about loss, love, fulfilment and achieving one's dreams. It's difficult to articulate just why this book is so effective, but definitely worth giving a shot!

My thanks to Faber & Faber for a review copy of their 2010 edition via NetGalley of ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Kazuo Ishiguro. Since its original publication in 2005 it has been highly acclaimed, even though some critics were rather snobby about Kazuo Ishiguro writing science fiction. Clearly those making such remarks do not appreciate the scope of the genre and that it’s not all spaceships and jet packs.

Narrated by Kathy, who at thirty-one is looking back at her younger years spent at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School. The truth of the situation facing Kathy and her friends, Tommy and Ruth, in the wider world is slowly revealed to the reader.

‘Never Let Me Go’ is both a coming-of-age tale and science-fiction set in a dark, alternative Britain. Acclaimed British horror author Ramsey Campbell also described it as horror because it is a “classic instance of a story that's horrifying, precisely because the narrator doesn't think it is".

This is very evident as Kathy and the others accept their place in society. There is no resistance, no outrage.

While I had seen the 2010 film adaptation, this is my first reading of the novel. It is powerful, thought-provoking, and deeply moving.

Overall, clearly a novel worthy of its modern classic status.

I've heard of this book a number of times and often wondered exactly what it was about so was glad to finally read it. For such challenging, provocative content it was surprisingly easy to read and I raced through in less than 2 days. Ishiguro's genius is in approaching such questions from a child's point of view, even when Kathy is an adult she still speaks with a child's voice, both in memory and present. This simplicity fools you into reassurance and before you know it you are questioning your own morality, when you thought you'd just been reading a narrative about childhood friendship. Highly recommend.