Reviews

Ishiguro takes us to a world where cloning humans in order to harvest their organs, when the time is right, has been realized. For our main characters all they've known growing up is that someday they will leave Hailsham (an English boarding school) and shortly before they turn 30 will have to donate their vital organs. There's never any talk of deviating away from their destiny. That's not the point. In some parts of the world today there are people who do not get to have a say, even now there are people who live in an unstable part of the world with war or disease running rampant and cutting their lives short. You don't always get to live out the life you want, but you will always have memories of good times or better times that remind you of how precious life is.
The memory Kathy has of holding a pillow, slow dancing with it, and pretending it's a baby that she could never have (because clones can't have babies) while listening to the Judy Bridgewater song 'Never Let Me Go' crushed me. Probably because I've gone through chemotherapy and will need a surgery soon, but doing so will make me infertile. I never want to let go of the hope that perhaps someday even despite the disease I can beat the odds.
Despite the gloominess of the novel Kathy never gives up or loses heart. I admire that about her. I think it's her memories that keep her going. Anyway I didn't love this book, but I appreciated what it was saying.