never let me go by kazou ishiguro

‘Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro's sixth novel, takes place in England during the 1990s and follows students' lives at an elite boarding school. The story explores themes of friendship, memories, and what it means to be human, gradually revealing deeper mysteries about the nature of their world.’ [With thanks to Wikipedia].

Unfortunately, the writer of this review found the book so slow and boring that they gave up a third of the way through. Others - who did finish it - were put off by what they described as ‘horrific’ content, finding it ‘an emotionally difficult read’. It made one person feel physically sick. Two were warned by partners not to read it, and one was so disturbed by a previous reading that they couldn't bring themselves to read it again.

However, there was also praise and positive thoughts about it: ‘a beautifully haunting read’, a 'calm and reflective tone', and ‘subtle and beautifully crafted language’. It certainly made the group think about what it means to be human (even if the answer seemed to be mostly that 'we are the monsters'). Nobody 'enjoyed' reading it although almost everyone was glad to have done so and felt it justified being counted as a modern classic because - despite being 20 years old this year - it is attracting a new generation of readers who perhaps recognise a world over which their generation have no control and no hope.... Dark stuff.

The other question that has to be asked is why do we read the books we read? It turns out that this month the writer of this review was the only person reading the chosen book for escapism and enjoyment... Therefore, if you want to keep it light and not spiral down a dark dystopian well of depression… then probably give ‘Never Let Me Go’ a miss. On the other hand, the book still managed a sizeable 'thumbs up' majority - which suggests it should be read after all!