Never Let Me Go: The Plot Line with a slope of 0

A dystopian book that is thought-provoking but executed very unpleasantly.

*Spoiler Warning*

Going into this book in English class, I was moderately excited because this book has a new concept in organ donation and the implications of that. There are many concepts like “possibles” and the different stages of life that these kids go through before they “complete.” I also love how humans are immortal because of the donation process

However, what does not work with the book is that if none of the events in the book had taken place, then the same outcome would have happened. Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy all die young no matter their story. Even though the author wants to show the themes in how people live their life that way, very few actions happen.

I like how the book has an unreliable narrator in Kathy. It makes the book have soul and feel like an actual person. However, the narrator is so annoying and unlikable. She is always obsessed with having Tommy’s shirt clean and not dirty. That is what kept me laughing in her flashback moments.

I also wished the characters had more soul. I know that they are not normal kids and do not have the same way of life as other kids, but the way they discuss things is so flat. Everything feels like they do not have joy in the things they do, and that they are forced. Also, the characters like Tommy, Ruth, and Kathy are not fleshed out enough. I don’t think anyone who reads the book finds any joy or roots for the character. They do not have to be good guys to be likable. However, the characters lack humanity (beyond the point of the book).

Overall, the book shows the implications of being immortal in a rather unpleasant way.