Kazuo Ishiguro: "Never Let Me Go" // Review

"As children, Ruth, Kathy and Tommy spend their childhood at a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. As they grow into young adults, they find that they have to come to terms with the strength of the love they feel for each other, while preparing themselves for the haunting reality that awaits them. Never Let Me Go is an unforgettable story of love, friendship and the fragility of life."

Whilst Never Let Me Go is sometimes ethically intriguing, it's also rather dull. Like the film, it was slow, quiet and hard to get into. I'll be honest, there were occasions when I really had to force myself to pick the book up and continue reading - yet despite my efforts I feel like I got nothing out of it. At times there wasn't as much dialogue as I'd like, especially between Kathy and Tommy; whose relationship deserved to be established and explored in more depth than it ever was in the book. This is probably why the film adaption of the novel takes the edge for me, considering it leads you to believe Kathy and Tommy spent a lot more time together than they were actually written to have. One thing that does annoy me about the film though is that Kathy is made to appear a virginal, shy type. In the book she has many fleeting relationships, which, again, are never explored in any detail but are vital to mention when it comes to her characterisation.

Although the blurb makes this big thing about "an unforgettable story of love", I'd argue against it. If Tommy had never said to Kath, "We loved each other all our lives," then you may not have realised that was ever the case. Even when they (SPOILER ALERT!) become a couple, there's never a soft caress; Tommy never pushes her hair behind her ear... you know, all the things you'd expect from two people who have, supposedly, been longing to be together all their lives. Even then, it's just "sometimes, we had sex." And, yes, that is an exact quote, which I believe is said more than once. I shouldn't judge him seeing as I've only read one of his books, but as far as I can gather, Ishiguro's talent does not extend to creating complex loving relationships. It's all very minimalist and he doesn't go too far in his descriptions. In fact, I have never seen such disparity when it comes to describing characters and what they look like, either! In his defence, though, I'm not sure if his lack of description of the clones was to emphasise their unimportance in the eyes of the humans.

One clever thing about the novel though, being dystopian, is that it really does make you think - even without posing a single question. You do consider what you'd like the fate of the clones to be. On the other hand, it is very forgettable. Nothing really happens, and nothing ever shocked me - although I suppose I had some sort of idea about the ending because I'd already watched the film. Nonetheless, if I saw someone about to read it, I'd direct them to put it back where they got it. That may seem a bit harsh, but I'm a big believer in that books are supposed to make you feel. Ishiguro just doesn't do it for me.

To keep up with what books I'm reading, visit my Goodreads page at: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/32076954-meaghan

John Green: "The Fault In Our Stars" // Review

"Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten."

The Fault In Our Stars, probably one of the world's best-loved books, comes as the most compelling read I've had in a very long time. Since I've been seventeen, I've been more inclined to read more 'mature' books and move away (although not completely away) from books about supernatural or mythological goings-on like that of Meg Cabot's "Underworld" and others. If you're attempting to do the same, The Fault In Our Stars would be a wonderful place to start. Although fictitious, this book felt very real to me.

I've read John Green before, beginning with his book "Looking For Alaska". Although it was an okay read, it didn't hit me like The Fault In Our Stars; which had me constantly turning pages from 3pm to 11:45pm last night. When you can read a book in a day, you know you're in love with it. One thing I loved about it was that it is out of the ordinary. Hazel, the book's main character, is on a completely fictitious drug called Pholanxifor which makes her cancer manageable; at least for now. The fact that John Green made up Pholanxifor is astounding to me. It was a genius idea - it allows the reader some distance from the modern-day situation, where the sad reality is that drugs like Pholanxifor just don't exist. With this in mind, you can read the book like a fantasy or maybe even a watered-down sci-fi. However, I did not discover the drug wasn't in existence until the book's final pages - and so everything in the book was very real to me at the time of reading it.

Another thing I loved was the use of intertextuality (I'm going all 'English Literature student' on you here, but it's true); whereby The Fault In Our Stars has connections with a fictional book Green creates called "An Imperial Affliction". Green writes about this as Hazel's favourite book. I was under the impression that it really existed, although that doesn't, either! Anyway, AIA supposedly ends mid-sentence with the assumption that the main character died in the middle of writing; leaving Hazel with an unavoidable urge to find out how it ends before she herself dies. Throughout the book I was so scared that The Fault In Our Stars would end mid-sentence too - but (SPOILER) I'm so glad that it didn't. I'm so glad that we never have to hear about how Hazel dies.

I am also able to say that I actually learned something from this book. There are many quotable lines, which you'll undoubtedly come across if you log onto Tumblr, but there is one section of text which, more than any other, I found solace in. When thinking about her own death, Hazel says, "I kept thinking there were two kinds of adults... Neither of these futures struck me as particularly desirable. It seemed to me that I had already seen everything pure and good in the world, and I was beginning to suspect that even if death didn't get in the way, the kind of love that Augustus and I share could never last... Nothing gold can stay."
Although I do not imagine myself becoming terminally ill often, this book makes you question how you would handle such an event. This quote resonated with me - and if I was dying, I imagine words like this would comfort me. The way John Green has put himself into the mind of someone with cancer is incredible and although the book is not all doom and gloom, it has been written in such an exquisite way that you almost don't feel pity for cancer sufferers anymore - you respect them.

So, if you have a day to spare, pick this book up. I cannot stress that enough. Don't fear that it will make you depressed, because that's not the effect it had on me, although I did have doubts about that before I opened the book. There will be tears, I'm not going to lie, but they will be very, very worth it. God help me when the movie comes out.