Notes on "Never let Me Go"

Our appreciation for any piece of writing depends on our mood, expectations and level of interest in the story.  It would be foolish of me to attempt to describe all the elements of a good read, since we all come at reading from different points of view.  But I think we would generally agree that a good book must have an interesting story, the characters must be believable, and they must be interesting enough to care about.

To me the author's job is much like that of an angler.  Present a tasty lure, make it look interesting, set the hook, keep the light taut, reel em in with force.

I read "Never Let Me Go"  as a sci fi story.  The early bits were intriguing, the dialogue seemed authentic to me and, as a good reader, I was able suppress my confusion with the strange terminology to allow the story arc to develop.  However, the number of  questions that went unanswered continued to accrue.   I assert that somewhere in the writing, the answers must be implied or given.  This story waited until the final pages to ham-handedly answer some of the questions.  By that time,  after endless pages of introspection, and little action,  I had stopped caring about the characters.

I was left with a raft of unanswered questions:  What is left (in a body) after donating 3 organs? Who got the organs?  Who was the unseen  authority behind the carer/donor program? How did they receive their orders? Was there not even one clone who would try to escape their fate? What did the narrator think about her humanity?  I could go on.
So, if I may strain the fish metaphor, my take is that the author succeeded in hooking me in the beginning with promising lures that seemd to be going somewhere.  But he did not provide the tension to reel me in.  He let the line spin out until the end of the reel and eventually, the hook simply fell out.

Many of the thumbs-uppers were already fans of the author, and perhaps had a predisposition to find this work lovable.  Others were connected in some way to care-giving professions and saw authenticity in the account of the narrator.

The nattering naysayers were less forgiving.  Count me among them.

Dennis Noonan

Summer Reading

I'm not sure how many in the group read this blog, but I thought I might mention a few recent reads that might prove interesting to others.

Michael Connolly  - The Wrong Side of Goodbye

  Harry Bosch investigates two mysteries.  Micky Haller (Lincoln Lawyer) makes an appearance.  Vintage Connolly/Bosch.

Carl Hiassen - Razor Girl

 Zany premise and the usual collection of off-beat characters romp through the tale.  Protagonist tries to thwart engaged homeowners from building on next door lot. Razor girl conman has scam that strains credibility.  Fun Florida read.

 

Peter May - The Lewis Man

Second in the Finn trilogy about mysteries on the Isle of Lewis in Outer Hebrides (Scotland)

A bog body is found and a mystery is opened. Peter May – The Chessmen

Third in the Lewis trilogy.  A body is found in a drained Loch. Finn Macleod is back home and investigates

Peter May -- The Critic and Black Light Blue

Enzo series.  Set in France.  Good reads With rich local details and good writing.. 

Fredrik Backman, --A Man Called Ove  A novel, also a movie (Swedish) with English subtitles.  Enjoyed the book and then saw the movie.  Both very worthwhile reading,

Especially if you know any Swedes.

Erik Larson – In the Garden of Beasts

Nonfiction.  A new American Ambassador to Germany and his family find adventure in Berlin.  Set in 1933, the same year Hitler is named Chancellor.

We know how it all turns out but the story of how they saw it is gripping.

Phillip Kerr – A Man without Breath

Berlin, March, 1943.  Bernie Gunther (A Quiet Flame) is dispatched (reluctantly) to Smolensk Russia,  Looking for evidence of War crimes.  There is evidence of a massacre of Polish Officers who were prisoners. 

Peter Heller – Celine. Celine --a  most unexpected PI grandmother. searches for the father of a man who was reportedly killed in a bear attack.   Heller authored Dog stars and The Painter   

I am currently into the intriguing Never Let Me Go and plan to be at Wednesday's meeting,  See you then.

Dennis Noonan

Ishiguro Check-in

As a topical warmup to get you in the mood for our discussion of Never Let Me Go, I'm attaching this link (courtesy of Larry Rosen) to Dave Eggers' McSweeney's Literary site.  See if you can distinguish  the writing between Ishiguro's masterpiece Remains of the Day and, perhaps another modern classic, the Opening Statement from James Comey to the Senate Intelligence Committee.  Many of you will remember we read Eggers' A Hologram for the King for one of our early meetings.  So it's all coming together :)