Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go is a novel which haunts you long after you have read it .First published in 2005 by Faber and Faber ,London , this 282 pages book was also  made into a major  movie , by the same name .

             Hailsham school is a  school  for children  who are cloned  and who are brought up to become  organ donors and carers. The ultimate destiny of these children is to keep donating their organs till they complete(die).The purpose of Hailsham is to  brainwash these students  so that they  remain steady and dependable  suppliers of  organs as they grow into adults. These children remain  puzzled at Hailsham   with many unanswered questions and  grow into confused adults. Their lack of understanding of the world outside is touching . Hailsham carefully ensures that  they are sheltered from any such understanding .They look for their Possibles , the human beings they might have been cloned from .But they fail.

                  The novel is about the life of three such children – Kathy,Ruth and Tommy. None of them have parents but they crave  security , parental figures and love one another. They have heard that if a boy and a girl deeply  love  each other , the couple can get deferral from donation of organs. Kathy grows into an excellent carer and  tries her best that she never lets Ruth and Tommy go .But they finally have to  leave , one by one .

      “Never let me go” is a very touching novel and indicates how hope in these children steadily erodes as they grow up  and begin to understand the world a little. They begin to realize turmoils and injustices  of the world  but  have no choice but to keep calm .But still , they do indulge in  small  pleasures  which life offers them in their situations.

               Kazuo Ishiguro has  written this powerful novel with great skill. The novel shocks and jolts  us on many levels – cloning and its morality , keeping the children in the dark about the world outside while brainwashing them , developing spare  organs for those who are rich and powerful and  who control the system .Despite its dark aspects , the  reading of this book is a very rich experience .

               I recommend you to read this book .Incidentally ,this book finds a place in the list of 100 novels of the century , prepared by Time magazine in 2005 .