There is no more apt way to begin a review of Kazuo Ishiguro's newest novel Never Let Me Go than with a mention of its main character, Kathy H. This is not because she is an exceptional character, but because it is through her that Ishiguro narrates the story, and his narration is brilliant.

In Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro taps not only into the mind of Kathy H, but into her thought and aging processes as well. Rarely does a writer manage to create such an interesting point of view. As a result, the novel works like a fusion of Catch-22, with its scrambled chronology, and Frankenstein, with its unreliable narrators. When reading, the reader must put together the timeline and be on a vigilant look-out for instances where Kathy may be forgetting or significantly obscuring the story's "objective reality". In memoirs, we tend to make ourselves look heroic and righteous. Kathy is capable of these kinds of failings, too.

Warning: Spoilers follow.

Why Britain?

Ishiguro sets Never Let Me Go in a parallel universe, but specifically in Britain. Here are my two brief thoughts about why that is.

(1) Dolly the sheep was cloned in Britain.

(2) Ishiguro is making a statement about the class system that was - and some argue still is - an important part of British society, in that the Hailsham clones represents the upper-class Britons, and the non-Hailsham clones represent the middle and lower classes. The non-Hailsham'ers would love nothing more than to come from Hailsham, and the Hailsham'ers take their lifestyle for granted. And Ishiguro's critical point is that there is a complete futility in thinking this way because, in the end, every clone completes and there are no deferrals for Hailsham students. Regardless of class, we all die.

"So kiss me with your mouth open"

The title of this section is taken from a song called "Dilaudid" by The Mountain Goats. I think it captures much of the essence of Never Let Me Go.

The reception's gotten fuzzy
The delicate balance has shifted
Put on your gloves and black pumps
Let's pretend the fog has lifted
Now you see me, now you don't
Now you say you love me
Pretty soon you won't
If we get our full three score and ten
We won't pass this way again
So kiss me with your mouth open
Turn the tires toward the street
And stay sweet

All the chickens come on home to roost
Plump bodies blotting out the sky
You know it breaks my heart in half, in half
When I see them trying to see them fly
'Cuz you just can't do things your body wasn't meant to
Hike up your fishnets, I know you
If we live to see the other side of this
I will remember your kiss
So do it with your mouth open
And take your foot off of the brake
For Christ's sake!