"Never Let Me Go:" Conclusion and Content Warning

Content Warning

I read the first third of Never Let Me Go but didn’t continue reading the book. Personally, I cannot recommend this book because I find the content inappropriate. Of course this is my opinion, others may be fine with it, but I don’t have a desire to read this type of material.

Narration

The first third of the novel I actually liked. I could see why the book had been so popular when it first came out. In the beginning of the story, the narrator was just vague enough to make the reader interested without being so vague as to be disenchanting.
I felt that the author balanced the opening fairly well. I must interject that the first few chapters of a novel are very difficult to write because you have to motivate the reader to be interested in a complex microcosm, without doing an excessive information overload. A tricky balance.

The novel is told in the first person by a narrator who is one of three friends growing up in a pseudo-boarding school in England, “Hailsham.” In the first third of the novel, the narrator is reflecting on her growing up years at Hailsham and reminisces without excessive hindsight.

Writing Style

The novel’s style successfully portrays the honest perspective of a child/teen. The sentences are written very fluidly and I felt that it could have been someone verbally telling me a story. This writing style is part of what initially interested me in reading; it was easy to read. There were no disjunct sentences or phrases to interfere the telling of the story.

Conclusion

While this novel wasn’t my cup of tea and I didn’t finish it, I guess this is part of the point of reviewing books. I give you my opinion and thoughts on a particular book and it can create discussion or influence you in your reading selection. So whether you read the novel, it is your choice.

I am currently researching a handful of books for a potential next read, and I hope to see you back for Alison and my future literary adventures J