I read *Never Let Me Go* by Kazuo Ishiguro about two months ago. The more I think about it, the more I am confused as to why this book is lauded as a modern classic. At many intervals, I found it downright boring. Yes, Ishiguro can write some beautiful sections. Yes, I think there is an interesting idea for a novel here.
Yet, for about 80% of this book, we are dealing with adolescent bickering and drama between Kathy and Ruth! Is the subtext that their anxiety about being harvested for organs makes them cagey and confrontational? Aren’t all kids cagey and confrontational at times though? Does that make the sub-subtext that we are all being harvested for our organs as we turn from children to adults??
I think my criticism revolves around the fact that I am simply not interested in manufactured teenage drama. This book brought a lot of interesting issues/ideas to the fore—but in my opinion, failed to deliver for the sake of chronicling high schooler angstiness.
Edit: There have been some great comments on here that have opened up my mind to interpretations on the story. Yet there is one which responded to my grievance while simulatenously validating it. Here is the comment:
“My interpretation was that you as the reader are confused and possibly angry at the characters for fussing with such trite things when they are going to die soon when that is precisely what being human is. We have short lives and we get bent out of shape about dumb things like which movie franchise is better or if it’s better to live in the city or country, etc. Why do we get mad at the characters in the story but not ourselves for not making or fighting for more of our short lives?”
by ollieollieoxygenfree