Never Let Me Go

Published in 2005, the dystopian science fiction Never Let Me Go is Ishiguro’s sixth novel. The events of the novel take place in a reimagined 1990s England, where the central premise is that state-legitimised cloning of humans results in young adults donating their vital organs in order to prolong the lives of citizens.

Once these clones begin their donations, these ‘donors’ receive care from fellow clones (referred to as ‘carers’) until they ‘complete’. The novel is divided into three central parts, each of which is narrated by the protagonist Kathy H. – a 31-year-old ‘carer’, and follows her memories of the separate time periods of her life.

Part one details Kathy’s memories of her childhood at Hailsham, a boarding school for clones. Most of her memories involve her interactions and friendships with Ruth and Tommy D. She details multiple incidents of Tommy’s violent temper, and his status as a social pariah. One of these incidents is triggered by a prank, after which the sympathetic Kathy attempts to calm him down. In response, Tommy strikes her, but not substantially enough to result in any genuine harm. Although close friends, Ruth and Kathy have a strained relationship, and Kathy notes many times at Hailsham that Ruth would lie or alter her personality in an attempt to gain favour with other students.

Despite Kathy’s fondness of Tommy, he soon enters into a relationship with Ruth. The students of Hailsham do not fully comprehend their fate, and it is never explicitly explained to them, aside from one classroom incident with Miss Lucy, after which she later abruptly leaves Hailsham.

Part two details the three students’ transition from Hailsham into a housing facility, referred to as the ‘cottages’ that they share with fellow human clones from a variety of homes. Chrissie and Rodney are a couple that reside in these cottages, and they develop a relationship with Tommy, Ruth, and Kathy. Rodney later claims to have seen Ruth’s ‘possible,’ (i.e. the person from whom Ruth was originally cloned) so the couple and the students travel to Norfolk to see this woman for themselves. Upon further inspection, it is made clear that the woman bears no substantial resemblance to Ruth.

During this trip, Chrissie and Rodney ask the students about a rumour from Hailsham that said clones who are in love can have donation ‘deferrals,’ however Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth are unable to provide any answers. Kathy and Ruth’s friendship becomes increasingly taut, to the point that Ruth confronts Kathy to inform her that her romantic feelings toward Tommy will never be returned.

Part three follows Kathy’s experiences as a carer. At this point she has become estranged to Ruth and Tommy, both of whom have now begun their donations. However, this changes as Kathy becomes Ruth’s carer.

Ruth encourages Kathy to take her on a trip to a beached boat near Tommy’s recovery centre, and they pick him up along the way. Ruth apologises to Kathy and Tommy, as she believes she was responsible for keeping them apart, suggesting they seek a ‘deferral.’ Ruth ‘completes’ on her second donation.

Kathy becomes Tommy’s carer, and their romance blossoms. In hopes of obtaining a ‘deferral,’ they visit Madame, a woman who often visited Hailsham to take their best artworks for what is only known as the ‘gallery.’ She is also accompanied by a Hailsham guardian, Miss Emily, who explains that such deferrals do not exist.
Soon after this, Tommy ‘completes’ after his fourth donation