June 2005

Never Let Me Go


by Kazuo Ishiguro

June 29, 2005

Cloning Around!

I'm late! And I'm so sorry! And to top it all off I haven't finished the book. I've got about a 100 pages to go, and I promise I will be back to chat.

To get things started though, I wanted to list some of the links I found:

Random House author interview.

Salon review.

Powell's interview.

NPR Interview with Ishiguro.

CBC article.

The Simon Review.

Village Voice review.

Ugh! I wish he wasn't revealing everything so slowly! I read a lot of the reviews before I started the book, so I knew the main premise before hand. A conscious decision on my part.

So far, it's okay for me. I don't think Kathy's as detached as I thought she would be as a narrator, but I find it annoying that she seems to keep repeating herself a lot - I think this is because Ishiguro jumps around timewise.

I'd like more details that they DO know about in their lives, as opposed to what seems like a lot of speculation. I want more descriptions of their projects. I can't seem to see them in my mind at all and I think they would be a very nice emotional clue to what is going on in their heads.

Given their situation and how in the dark they are, their relationships seem very typical to me. It's funny - Kathy figures out that the couples are acting like they've seen on TV, but how different is that from what "regular" teenagers see and copy? It got me wondering how much we learn from the media, as opposed to the people we see in front of us everyday. Maybe we're too close to, say, our parents? Or maybe it's kind of an osmosis thing and we don't realize how much we've picked up until years later? Just some questions that popped into my head.

Of course, the big issue with this book is the ETHICS question. These children have been cloned for the sole purpose of donating their organs. I love the whole sex thing - have it, it's for fun, but don't catch any diseases. Oh yeah, and you can't have any kids.

Why are they being "educated?" Although I question the eductation their getting? What do you think the role of the teachers are in their lives? (Some of these questions might be answered further on in the book - sorry!)

What about the Madame and her gallery?

I hope this is a jumping off point for discussion. Again, I'm sorry I'm being lax, but I promise to be back for a more in depth entry! Please, have fun!

Posted by Knit One Read Too at 09:50 AM | Comments (28)