Review - Never Let Me Go

Today I finally, finally, got my PGCE application paid for and sent off. It's a massive relief just to have it done now, but no doubt after 1st December (the closing date for applications) I will start panicking about whether I'm going to get an interview or not...but I'll think about that then.

I've been quite slow with posting recently because I haven't been able to think of anything to write about. I'm also really tired all the time, so whatever free time I do get, I just want to sit there doing absolutely nothing. Maybe watch a cheeky bit of University Challenge so all my brain cells don't die. My head is crammed full of Bret Easton Ellis, Fight Club and Wordsworth at the moment, so it's quite nice to think of something else for a little while (no offence Bret, you know I love you more than I love mince pies).

I originally wasn't going to do a review post for Never Let Me Go, because quite a few of you recommended it to me, and I didn't want to offend everyone. But nobody I know has actually read it, so I wanted to vent my frustrations at it out somewhere. So here goes: (Kathy H lovers, look away now).

I hadn't read any of Kazuo Ishiguro's books until I picked up Never Let Me Go, and I almost certainly won't read another one. I just did not dig his style. The idea for the book was fantastic (click here for spoilers) but the book, to me, just never seemed to get going. I constantly felt like the narration was building up to something huge happening, but the event it was building up to just never occurred. I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't like the book aside from the writing style - in fact, it isn't even that I didn't like the book. I was simply completely indifferent to it. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters, and maybe that sounds a little heartless (especially considering the purpose of the characters), but I really didn't like any of them. Ok, maybe I liked Tommy a little bit - he was very sweet - but I couldn't stand Ruth (it's quite apt that Keira Knightley is playing her in the upcoming film adaptation - bad acting for a bad character).

I can see why this book is so popular, but I don't like books that are simply written and I don't like books that are poorly written, and I didn't think Never Let Me Go was impressive on any front. To be honest, I was just bored. By about a third in I was only reading it so that I could finish it. I couldn't see any development to the story and there was absolutely no depth to the characters, which sounds very pretentious on my part, but I am an English Lit student afterall.

I've tried not to give much about the story away here, because if you are planning on reading it, the idea for the novel is very cool. However, I cannot say that I would recommend this to anyone. Sorry to all those pople who recommended it to me! At least I'm honest, right?

I am looking forward to the film though, even if it does feature Keira Shiteley and Carey mind-numbingly-boring Mulligan. Helllllooo Andrew Garfield!