In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewed version of contemporary England. Narrated by Kathy, now 31, "Never Let Me Go" hauntingly dramatises her attempts to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School, and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world. A story of love, friendship and memory, "Never Let Me Go" is charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of life.

2008-08-25 Adding my voice to the sound of disappointment...

I was excited to see this work by Kazuo Ishiguro, having read a good number of his previous novels and enjoyed them. Unfortunately, "Never Let Me Go" falls short of Ishiguro's usual high standard.

Whilst the premise of the story has great potential, the plot lacks pace and the delivery struggles to hold (my) the reader's interest. Who is the intended audience? I wonder. Not seasoned adult readers, surely.

I found "Never Let Me Go" a slow, tedious read, and while I did find myself wanting to discover if there were indeed any dark mystery, I resorted to speed reading to reach the end - a sure sign, for me, of a certain lack of quality.

Sorry to say, when there are so many spectacular reads out there, and so little time, this one gets a thumbs down from me.