Never Let Me Go (2005)
By Kazuo Ishiguro
Children cloned and raised as organ donors prepare to give their lives in fulfillment of their socially-designated purpose.
At thirty-one, Kathy is finishing her career as a carer, and will soon be assigned her first donation. She is one of a group of children who have been cloned and raised for future organ donations. As she prepares for the fulfillment of her ultimate purpose, Kathy recounts her upbringing and education at Hailsham, an elite private school for the clones. Primarily, she recounts her relationships with Ruth and Tommy, from their childhood friendship through graduation, on to the Cottages where growing tensions between the three ultimately leads to their separation. Ruth and Tommy become a couple in high school, though Tommy and Kathy harbor secret feelings for one another, and their relationship is tested once they leave Hailsham and face the prospect of embarking on their predetermined roles: first, as carers to recovering donors, then as donors themselves before they expire. During their time at Hailsham, the students are encouraged to be artistic and their artworks are collected for a gallery. When Tommy hears of a rumor about possible deferrals for couples in love, he begins to draw feverishly, hoping that his artwork will demonstrate the quality of his love for Ruth. Years later, long after the relationships between the three have dissolved, Kathy becomes Ruth’s carer. Ruth wants to see Tommy before she dies, not to express her love, but to try to convince Kathy and Tommy to admit their feelings for one another and seek a deferral for themselves. They relent after Ruth’s death, but find there is no salvation for those created for the sole purpose of prolonging others’ lives.
Though the plot subtly revolves around the donors and carers, the focus of Ishiguro’s novel is not the science or even ethics of cloning for “spare parts." Instead, this is a delicate, meandering narrative about the constantly changing dimensions of the triangle between Kathy, Tommy and Ruth. The clones are raised with the knowledge of what they are to become, and rarely question the morality of those that determined their own existence. Kathy’s misunderstanding of her sexual urges, which prompts her to suspect that a porn star donated her genetic material, reveals the anxiety the students have about their origins; Ruth declares that they come from “garbage” when her fantasy of finding her double is deflated. Though Ruth plans on the life she could lead, perhaps working in an office, her friends’ encouragement sounds hollow. That Ruth, Kathy and Tommy can experience love and have ambition proves the existence of their souls, but the staff at Hailsham must collect the artwork to verify that assertion. The students of Hailsham are offered the best education, but for what purpose? They are largely secreted away from society, whose acceptance of the harvested organs relies upon their belief in the donors’ lack of humanity. Once the technology of cloning and subsequent organ harvesting is introduced, concern for the donors is overwhelmed by concern for ailing family and friends who will benefit from donations.
Evaluation: Ishiguro is concerned with illustrating the problematic individuality that develops in persons socially designated as "disposable," an exploration that allows him to consider the nature of human souls and parallels between these clones and marginalized figures who serve social or symbolic functions. He treats his characters with respect and sensitivity, rather than as a figures in a polemic, adding ambiguity and texture to what could be presented as a "society vs. individual" dilemma.
– Natalie Champ