Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

A highly intriguing, thought provoking, science fiction novel. Never Let Me Go is a dystopian novel written by Nobel Prize winning author, Kazuo Ishiguro. It has been adapted into a motion picture of the same name. 

Never Let Me Go tells the story of a time when cloning is prevalent. Terminal illnesses like cancer are treatable by using organs donated from a person's clone. These clones keep "donating" their organs until they die. The main characters, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy are clones. They stay at a boarding school called Hailsham. At Hailsham, the children spend a lot of time doing art. Later, Hailsham is shut down and we find out that Hailsham was an experiment ran by Miss Emily, who wanted to prove that the cloned children have souls, by presenting their artwork in the Gallery. Hailsham was shut down due to the Morningdale scandal, even though it had little to do with Hailsham. Morningdale was a cloning company that wanted to create superhumans - by creating clones with super abilities. It became a scandal due to the ethics of it. 

The title Never Let Me Go refers to a song Kathy used to listen to when she was at the school (Hailsham). She would dance to it, holding the pillow like a baby. Cloned children can't have babies. This sight made the principle (who's only referred to as Madame) cry, as she faces the harsh realities of these cloned children. Later, Kathy falls in love with Tommy. They had heard from rumors that their "donation" can be deferred if they can prove they are in love. They talk to the school's previous officials (the school already shut down by then), but they were told such rumors are just rumors. It was never true. Tommy is ordered to give donations. Kathy applies to be a carer of the patients (clones who went through donations). Eventually, Tommy asks Kathy to stop being his carer, because he doesn't want her to watch him die. The book ends with Tommy dying after his fourth donation (typical of the clones), and Kathy is requested to begin her donations as well. 

What an absolute thought provoking, intriguing, interesting, unique novel. Books of this calibur doesn't come everyday. If you want a book that will stay with you for years to come, pick this one up.

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