Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Now, have you ever bought the Guardian on Saturday? I always get to the Review section and get all hopeful that its going to have stuff about music, TV and film in it and feel let down that its only got long winded reviews of books. And not any old books. Proper books. You know, not Stieg Larson, Dan Brown page turners but actual proper books. This, reader (singular not plural, I've checked the stats), is just that sort of book. It kind of reminded me of when I tried to get through Oscar and Lucinda by, I think, Peter Carey. Its really well written, really an evocative type of book but it kind of feels a little bit like hard work. Like eating muesli, you know it is somehow good for you and you may even feel better for it at the end, but the actual process of getting through it can require persistence. Its about these kids who are at a boarding school and as they grow up and leave the school it becomes clear there is a wider picture that they are involved in. It is about genetic engineering (SPOILER). The narrator repeatedly tells you of little things that seem minor but HAD A MAJOR EFFECT- i.e. a friend of the [female] narrator looks at her in an odd way AND FROM THEN ON SHE KNEW THEY WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN. It overplays this trick a little bit. The thing I like about it is that throughout the book it hints at what the wider story is about and then right at the end it confirms it, i.e. there is no sudden twist but the way the truth is revealed leaves you shocked nonetheless. I think that the author is also making a point about people in general (i.e. not just genetically engineered ones)- the question arises in the reader's mind - Why don't they run away? Why don't they escape from their predetermined destiny? And I think the actual question should be 'Why don't we?' -[ahhhh, clever]. I may have got this totally wrong.

Anyway so it's by the same guy who wrote Remains of the Day (the film of which was the one with Anthony Hopkins as the butler), so expect lots of moody long shots of people thinking things but not saying them (only in a book not a film).

One thing I would say is, be sure to read the first chapter again after you finish it. Makes more sense. 7 out of 10. Good work, Kazuo. Big up respect for your arty writing chops.