Magic is when you’re reading one thing, but something much deeper is going into your head.
Reading Kazuo Ishiguro’s NEVER LET ME GO, I was first caught up in the story details, the intimate memories of the main character, Kathy, and the vivid pictures Kathy paints of her childhood, her friends, her teachers - and the mystery that surrounds them all.
As the story moves along, I find I’m unable to put the book down, even though Kathy is still describing her life’s memories. There’s something about Ishiguro that makes her memories become something more. (I can’t give details because of a spoiler situation.)
I can say that Kathy is a true innocent. And when she tells us of her life, we can only see the more global picture later on, as the picture widens. The profound implications of Kathy’s life don’t hit us right away. And because we see the world through her innocence, the final, nightmarish impact is even more shocking.
This was my first Kazuo Ishiguro book, and now I intend to read them all!
oh my, what a book.
spraking of ishiguro, any pressing recommendations for his other works?
The Buried Giant. One of my favourite books.
An Artist of the Floating World
I like his work ‘The Pale View of Hills’ too. I think this one resonates with Asian culture set in Europe and how people uprooted from their culture face difficulties. I’ve read this a long time ago. I might revisit it.