Books: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishigura

“Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro is a first person narrative told from the point of view by the protagonist Kathy H. At first, I thought the last name characterized by an initial, such as H., was an homage to Franz Kafka, but these simple identifications and other clues pulled me into the story.

Kathy is working as a carer and she is taking care of a childhood friend Ruth who was a donor. Kathy reminisces about their lives at Hailsham. Tommy is the third major character of the novel.

I thought it was interesting how Ishiguro used the word “carer” to describe Kathy’s profession instead of health aide, a term I am more familiar with. The term “donor” did not set off any alarms, but the author used the word “guardians” instead of teachers or professors. I started to suspect Hailsham was not a typical academy. This was not Hogwarts, my initial comparison, and these were not average students. Furthermore, the children never left the school grounds.

I also noticed the Kathy, Ruth, Tommy, et al, never had contact with the outside world.

The next word that raised my suspicions was “donations.” Miss Lucy, a guardian, said to Tommy that, “We weren’t being taught enough… about us… What’s going to happen to us one day. Donations and all that.”

The final clue that lead me to think these characters were unique was how Kathy never mentioned her parents. In fact none of the characters mentioned their parents. My first guess was that they were orphans, but Ishiguro discloses later that the children are clones.

I liked the way the author used simple words to create a mood. The words “carer” “donor” “donations” and “guardians,” the absence of last names provided enough clues for me to deduce Kathy, Ruth and Tommy were being raised so that their healthy organs could be harvested and transplanted into individuals with unhealthy internal organs. Hailsham is really a clone farm.

Ishiguro gave enough information for me to put together the narrative thread of the novel. The author was not afraid to challenge the reader.

The disclosure that Kathy and the others were clones did not end the suspense. I was waiting for one of the characters to assert themselves and rebel, or at least walk away from the destiny. It was frustrating, not in the “I hate this book” sense, how Kathy, Ruth and Tommy accepted their fates. I kept hoping Kathy would drive off and start a new life for herself, but she never did.

I found it interesting how the clones were not uber-men. Ruth was internally unpredictable, and very fickle. She could be close to Kathy in one moment, then angry with her immediately after, and then act as if nothing happened to make her angry.

Ruth was also cold, calculating and selfish. She knew Kathy had issues controlling her sex drive. Kathy thought it was because she was cloned from a porn model. Ruth could have told her she had the same problems. Instead, she allowed Kathy to believe there was something wrong with her.

Also, Ruth kept Tommy for herself, knowing Kathy would have been a better partner for him.

Tommy was prone to tantrums and fits of rage. He also could not draw and did not have any artistic talent. He also appeared to be slow-witted. Ruth used to make fun of him and talked down to him.

Ishiguro created a credible dystopian world in which humans decided to create, what they thought, an inferior form of life to exploit in order to prolong their lives and cure diseases. They were inferior because they did not have souls. The clones are called “students” to make them feel like part of society, but Miss Emily and Madame call them “poor creatures.”

The clones were never misinformed. They understood and accepted their purpose. They are taught to believe donating organs is their purpose in society. Society even created a euphemism for their death. If a clone dies in the process of donating organs, then it has “completed,” as in completed its purpose.

The clones were not only exploited for their organs. As children, they were encouraged to draw and write poetry. Their works, the ones that were judged to be exceptional, were sent to the gallery. At first, I thought Hailsham was selling the artwork to fund the school’s expenses. I was wrong. Instead, the artwork was used to promote the quality of clones that were being produced.

In a scene late in the novel, Miss Emily expressed society’s perception of superiority over the clones. “We’re all afraid of you. I myself had to fight back my dread of you almost every day I was at Hailsham. There were times when I looked down at you from my study window and I’d feel such revulsion…”

Notice how the author frames Miss Emily’s hatred in the last sentence, “I looked down at you… I’d feel such revulsion.” Racism is based fear. She is the personification of this dystopian society.

Miss Emily’s contempt for Kathy and Tommy is also demonstrated when she talks about other clone farms and how the “students” are raised in deplorable conditions. Miss Emily’s argument reminded me of the argument rationalizing slavery. Slave masters would argue African American slaves had a better life in the United States than their “uncivilized” native countries.

And that is how I started to see “Never Let Me Go,” as a metaphor for immigrants living in a new society. I’ve never visited England, and cannot testify to the quality of life of recent immigrants.

But I am a child of immigrants in this country. Puerto Ricans are American citizens by an act of Congress, but we are a distinct and separate culture.

My parents came to New York City in the 1950’s and they settled in a Puerto Rican enclave in lower Manhattan. My father’s uncle was married to my mother’s aunt and that is how they met.

This is the first step towards integration into American society, settling in an community with other Puerto Ricans who have lived longer in New York City, like the “veterans” in the novel. Becoming a citizen is a process. The “veterans” teach the new arrivals about the new country, will help them find jobs, and direct the new arrivals to community organizations, like settlement houses, that will teach them how to be American citizens.

But the novel implies there is another aspect to being different from the greater society. The clones do not interact with anyone else, except for anyone who is connected to Hailsham. The “donors” are taken care of by the “carers.”

The clones are invisible. There is a sense of alienation. Society deliberately keeps the clones in the shadows. Kathy and Tommy do not feel alienated because they do not have a point of reference. They have a child-like innocence. They believe society is protecting their best interest, but are not fully aware they are being exploited. Furthermore, they are discouraged from leading normal lives.

Immigrants associate within their own groups, and sometimes are on the periphery of society. Society exploits them for their labor. We don’t notice them until immigrants start demanding their rights. Afterwards, they become a societal problem and a threat.

Even within the clones, there is social stratification. Ruth and Tommy keep reminding Kathy she is not a “donor.” If she was a “donor,” then Kathy would be able to understand them better.

I’ve often read immigrants in Europe have had a harder time integrating, compared to immigrants in the US. I thought the novel was sad, and if the author’s experience growing up in England lead to this novel, then “Never Let Me Go” is even sadder.