Never Let Me Go

By: Kazuo Ishiguro

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER • From the acclaimed, bestselling author of The Remains of the Day comes “a Gothic tour de force" (The New York Times) with an extraordinary twist—a moving, suspenseful, beautifully atmospheric modern classic.

As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were.

Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special—and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together.

©2005 Kazuo Ishiguro (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

• National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee, 2005, Fiction
• Alex Award Winner, 2006

"Stunningly brilliant fiction....A masterpiece of craftsmanship that offers an unparalleled emotional experience." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Ishiguro's elegant prose and masterly ways with characterization make for a lovely tale of memory, self-understanding, and love." (Library Journal)

"So exquisitely observed that even the most workaday objects and interactions are infused with a luminous, humming otherworldliness.....Ishiguro spins a stinging cautionary tale of science outpacing ethics." (Publishers Weekly)

"So exquisitely observed that even the most workaday objects and interactions are infused with a luminous, humming otherworldliness. . . . An epic ethical horror story, told in devastatingly poignant miniature. . . . Ishiguro spins a stinging cautionary tale of science outpacing ethics." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Perfect pacing and infinite subtlety. . . . That this stunningly brilliant fiction echoes Caryl Churchill’s superb play A Number and Margaret Atwood’ s celebrated dystopian novels in no way diminishes its originality and power. A masterpiece of craftsmanship that offers an unparalleled emotional experience. Send a copy to the Swedish Academy." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Ishiguro’s provocative subject matter and taut, potent prose have earned him multiple literary decorations, including the French government’s Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and an Order of the British Empire for service to literature. . . . In this luminous offering, he nimbly navigates the landscape of emotion—the inevitable link between present and past and the fine line between compassion and cruelty, pleasure and pain." —Booklist

No

This is a lovely little book, beautifully read, but merely as the tender reminiscences of an English schoolgirl. There is a modicum of deft sci-fi here, but so glibly delivered that honestly, who cares. Any practiced reader has already dealt with the issues of humanity, individuality and self-awareness in Margaret Atwood's "Handmaid's Tale" and even "I, Robot", both or which handled the issue with greater dexterity and insight than Ishiguro is able to muster. The concept of this alternate society is eplained early on, and once one has accepted it, the surprises are over. I purchased this audiobook on the recommendation of another person who said, "don't read anything about it first" and I didn't. It was my first Ishiguro, and I won't give up on him entirely, but I will be very cautious in the future.

Surprisingly good and surprisingly deep

I almost didn't download this selection seeing that some of the reviewers felt it was for a younger audience but I am glad that I did. For one thing, Ishiguro is a master of human emotion and interaction, he captures that perfectly. For another, Ishiguro has chosen a surprisingly modern and deep topic with important parallels to life today. This book was heartfelt, nostalgic, thoughtful, scientific, and intellectual. I thoroughly enjoyed it and strongly recommend it!

Unique story

makes you think about the possibilities and what the human race is capable of doing.

You've never read a book like this.

That's it.

It was difficult to rate, so don't be fooled by them. You can't rate a book like this, which is a confrontation with everything you never want to see. Read it to be a better human being.

A gradual masterpiece!

An amazing work of fiction, tragic and thought provoking. The development over time was brilliant!

awesome book!

Loved this book, watched the movie first and the book, as it is most always, is so much better than the movie. I read enjoyed the narrator.

Exceptional

Unlike anything I usually read.
You have no idea where the plot is going.
Unusual and touching

A deeply human story

In a world where we are all so separated, this is a story to bind all of us spiritually and as a species. We know our history, what we are capable of as people. The author provides a soft, caring look into the mirror. Oddly, I find this to be a story of hope. Through the “artificial “ we can learn to be our best selves.

slow going for my taste. the twist was good enough

the pace is slow going and the twist halfway through is good enough but eventually loses its edge in my eyes.

Decent book, but not a thriller

I kept waiting for the "creepy" or "thrilling" part to begin, and the book ended without that ever happening. Tension and mystery build up to......nothing.