Never Let Me Go is a bleak novel, that is made ever bleaker by the way in which our narrator normalises her horrifying reality. Although this is a work of speculative fiction, Kathy's world does not seem all that different from our own one (there were many moments which struck me as quintessentially British). Although Kathy's recollection of her childhood is incredibly evocative, Kazuo Ishiguro keeps his cards close to his chest, so Hailsham School's true purpose remains out of our reach. Yet, the more we learn about the guardians and the various rules imposed on Hailsham students, the more we grow uneasy, and suspicious, of Hailsham.
Kathy's rather remote narration deepens the novel's ambivalent atmosphere. We know that in the present, years after Hailsham, she works as a carer but we don't really know what that entails.
Although Kathy doesn't mythologising Hailsham, or her time there, her narration possesses a nostalgic quality. Ishiguro captures the intense, and ever-shifting, friendships we form as children. Kathy feels a certain pull to the brazen Ruth. Their fraught relationship frequently takes the centre-stage in the novel. There are misunderstandings, petty behaviours, jealousies, and all sorts of little cruelties. Ruth's is an awful friend, yet I could see how important her presence was in Kathy's life. By comparison Tommy seems a far simpler person, and I could definitely sympathise with his various struggles at Hailsham.
Ishiguro excels when he writes about 'memory'. At times Kathy questions the accuracy of her memories, wondering whether what she has just relayed actually happened or not. There is regret too over her past actions or words she'd left unspoken. She also tries to see a scene through someone else's eyes, hoping perhaps to gain some insight into others.
The novel poses plenty of complex questions and challenges definitions of 'humanity' and 'freedom'. It definitely provided a lot food for thought.
As provoking as Never Let Me Go was, I can't say that it moved it me as much as Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day.

Shortlisted for a Man Booker prize for a reason.

This was a reread for me and it was a lot of fun. The first time around, I solely focused on the sci-fi/dystopian aspects (I love how it’s set in an parallel universe) and the narration. This time, I found myself so much more invested in the characters themselves. I spent so much time thinking about their existence, their reasons to live, and how they navigated each day with that knowledge. It was a much more emotional and thought-provoking reread.

Not that I didn’t enjoy this story the first time I read it, but I feel like I got a whole lot more out of it this time. Which only shows me that my reading experiences have become more meaningful than they were years ago. And that is a rewarding feeling.