Poor creatures. What have we done to you? With all our schemes and plans?
Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel “Never Let Me Go“ is a tale of beautiful sadness. It is a story with a forgone conclusion whose looming presence becomes increasingly palpable as the novel progresses. It follows a group of friends from their childhood at the boarding school Hailsham in the idyllic English countryside to their coming of age and finally to their dystopian destiny. Ishiguro builds a tale of believable friendships and romances only to cast them asunder in the cruel reality the novel is set in. The beauty of this tragedy is poetic in a style that is very Japanese. The final scene is haunting, yet evocative of the joy the narrator Kathy will always carry in her heart. The relationships shared by Kathy in her youth are written lucidly. She and her friends grow so close together to the point that their lives become entwined only to then be pushed apart by the circumstances of life.
“Never Let Me Go” is a recollection of memories. Kathy is sorting through the thoughts in her mind, putting together everything that has happened and making an assessment of the events. She has a great fondness for these memories as she carefully examines each one during her reminiscence. She analyzes the moments that are profound and those that are mundane. She recalls the cheerful moments of friendship and the heated disagreements and fights. While looking back on these disputes, time has given her wisdom to understand each party’s side. She is able to forgive those who have wronged her along with forgiving herself. The three parts of the novel occur sequentially in its history, but within each part the memories of that specific period in her life are visited non-linearly. Often times Kathy will recall an earlier memory from her latest narrated recollection in order to provide context to the next chronological event. The author creates the effect of sorting through a jumbled heap of old bric-a-brac and neatly ordering all the memorabilia in relation to each other.
The memories themselves are significant to the Hailsham students, because these recollections are some of the few belongings they still have in adulthood. Their lives are ultimately transient, because of the eventual donation process they will undergo. These memories bring back the cherished fantasy of their adolescence. The novel begins at the English boarding school with a picturesque childhood and coming of age scenes set in the venerable academy and its verdant grounds. The importance of belongings is highlighted by the excitement around the Sales held at the school. It is a chance for the students to obtain unique items and keepsakes. Some of these come from the world outside their boarding school while others are arts and crafts produced by the fellow students. The characters treasure these possessions, closely guarding them during their school years with some students holding on to them for life. Only when they are older can they understand the irretrievable sentimentality of these objects, and some regret not hanging onto them longer.
The second part represent the end of Hailsham. The charming school is left behind as the students now prepare for the next phase of their life. They continue on in the countryside, but they are now with students from other boarding schools. Ones who did not have the loving teachers of Hailsham who were dedicated to fostering an appreciation for the arts and literature. Thrust into this new world Kathy and her friends have a new freedom living in cottages with no one but an old farmer checking up on them. The significance of this becomes apparent in the third part chapter of the book.
Mysteries from the first part are further explored and built upon. Lingering questions about their place in the world are revisited by the students trying to decipher offhand statements or private remarks from their teachers. Yet this is also when more discord grows between Kathy are her friends. No longer do they have childhood spats, but teenage arguments that end in underlying currents of resentment and distrust. The close friends begin to drift apart, not because the world forces them to separate, but because of their pride. Ultimately these fights end unresolved as the characters then go their own ways into the next role in their lives as carers.
The third part is like a vanitas still life proclaiming the brevity of life. It is filled with autumnal symbolism and metaphoric settings cast in fading afternoon light. The fleeting nature of existence is laid bare in the lives of the Hailsham students. There is a persistent reminder of time; time that is running out. Only as adults do they realize how little time is left until the inevitable final separation of these three close childhood friends. That is why they cling to each other so tightly so as to never let go in those final moments before the curtain drops. It is made bittersweet, because the third part is a reunion of the characters in their early adult lives after splitting up after the cottages. It is here where they begin to reconcile their differences. Kathy learns to forgive others and to forgive herself.
The Hailsham group also finally get to the bottom of lingering questions around the statements from their teachers that puzzled them and the gossip and legends told to the them by students from the other boarding schools. Ishiguro develops these enigmas over the course of the novel. He builds excitement to a final climatic encounter filled with revelations about the students and their world.
The book’s title takes on many meanings when the story is finally told. The characters’ expressive lives and friendships are penned sweetly on the pages only for their lot in life to make their parting inevitable. Their fate is a subject of pity. “Poor creatures. What have we done to you? With all our schemes and plans?” What Kathy is left with after all is said and done is these precious memories. The moments shared both good and bad, the exciting and the mundane. She sorts through them all admitting her shortcomings while forgiving all transgressions. People come into her life and create such cherished moments, but their presence is ephemeral and terminal. The conclusion of Ishiguro’s emotionally gripping novel is a worthy reminder to the reader that one’s own life too will face this harsh reality. Therefore, one should always hug beloved friends and family while one still can; eventually only the memories will remain.
