We recently finished (or were supposed to finish) Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I think I had similar reasons for finding difficulty finishing the book that I did in writing this blog post: to me there seemed to be not much of substance to form thoughts on in this book. The whole first part at least seems very blah. No defining characteristics are given to the characters (though this is on purpose I suppose) and the characters have no reactions of any extremes. Yes, they react to the trials and tribulations of growing up, but not in an emotional way by any stretch of the imagination. The only extreme emotion we observe is in Tommy, whose outbursts are seemingly comparable to a young child’s temper tantrums. Even still, these outbursts are taboo, and Tommy is ostracized because of them. I guess that is probably the main reason I struggled through Never Let Me Go, and struggled to find something to write about. The lack of emotion in the book led to a lack of emotion in myself about the book. I formed no emotional connections to the characters, or the story.

Originally, I thought I liked the unique method of storytelling employed by Ishiguro. I liked the reminiscence and thought I could draw connections to how I reflect on my own childhood. However, since begging Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, I realize that the reminiscent style could have been much more well done in Never Let Me Go. I am thoroughly impressed so far with the style of Life After Life, and find it a much more intriguing read than Never Let Me Go, although I classify their methods as similar.

I guess ultimately I would have to say I liked Never Let Me Go in theory, but I find it falls short in execution, especially since having been exposed to a higher level of execution in Life After Life. Here’s to hoping Life After Life meets the expectations I have for it!