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Never Let Me Go cover art

Never Let Me Go

Written by: Kazuo Ishiguro
Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
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Publisher's Summary

From the Nobel Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day and Klara and the Sun, comes “a Gothic tour de force" (The New York Times) with an extraordinary twist—a moving, suspenseful, beautifully atmospheric modern classic.

Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from the influences of the city. Its students are well-tended and supported, trained in art and literature, and become just the sort of people the world wants them to be. But, curiously, they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it.

Within the grounds of Hailsham, Kathy grows from schoolgirl to young woman, but it’s only when she and her friends Ruth and Tommy leave the safe grounds of the school (as they always knew they would) that they realize the full truth of what Hailsham is.

Never Let Me Go breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel. It is a gripping mystery, a beautiful love story, and also a scathing critique of human arrogance and a moral examination of how we treat the vulnerable and different in our society. In exploring the themes of memory and the impact of the past, Ishiguro takes on the idea of a possible future to create his most moving and powerful book to date.

©2005 Kazuo Ishiguro (P)2017 Vintage Canada

What the critics say

2005, Booker Prize, Nominated

2005, National Book Critics Circle Awards, Nominated

2006, Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (Eurasia), Nominated

2006, IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Nominated

"Ishiguro’s provocative subject matter and taut, potent prose have earned him multiple literary decorations, including the French government’s Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and an Order of the British Empire for service to literature. . . . In this luminous offering, he nimbly navigates the landscape of emotion—the inevitable link between present and past and the fine line between compassion and cruelty, pleasure and pain." (Booklist)

What listeners say about Never Let Me Go

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Thought Provoking

Great story! Slow start though. The theme doesn’t really reveal until halfway through. Good thing I didn’t give up.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of the greatest novels in recent history

The reader does a great job with the material. Essential reading, and it makes for excellent conversations if you work through it as a group.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gentle and loving

You might wish for a woman as kind and thoughtful as Kathy. A reminder to treasure that which is important in an unkind world.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Simply beautiful.

A lovely story. I am not sure that it is not better than Remains of the Day. Certainly the performance is very well done. A beautiful book beautifully read.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Shockingly Dull

If you are expecting some insight into a dystopian future and ethical quandaries be prepared for disappointment. This story drones on and on with trivial school age memories and barely scratches the surface of what could be an interesting premise. Narration is very good but not enough to pull this story out of boredom.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Weird to say the least

This story is weird. It’s very slow and there isn’t much plot to it, but the emotion it pulled from me was astounding given the pacing. The characters are deep and compelling and the world they live in is so complicated and dark, yet also so closely reflects our own. This book made me think, laugh, and doubt much of what I knew to be true about the human condition. Definitely one I won’t forget any time soon.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful story

Beautiful story. Thought provoking leaves you thinking about the characters for days. Generally I listen to books to and from work. This one I also listened to while painting in the evening.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Jan
  • 2023-07-07

10 hours I’m not getting back

I kept waiting for something. Anything that matched the description but never happened. TG for 1.5 speed.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fairy unique and interesting perfect performance

Very creative, very interesting and orated perfectly
I have listen to a lot of audiobooks
And this reading performance was the absolute best

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A beautiful idea - robotic delivery

Was sooo hard to stay tuned into this one. Really monotonous and lacking any tension

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