‘Lucky Pawns’

KAZUO ISHIGURO is known for writing stories told in a calm, almost remote manner by narrators who have lived through tumultuous times-the bombing of Nagasaki, for instance, or Hitler’s rise to power. The narrators give the impression that the only way they can share their memories is to stand at a safe distance from them. The tone is well chosen for such characters as the reserved English butler in Ishiguro’s most famous novel, The Remains of the Day; but it gains a strange new power when used to tell a horror story.

Ishiguro’s new book, Never Let Me Go, is set in the recent past and narrated by a 31-year-old woman who introduces herself simply as Kathy H. In a series of impressionistic flashbacks, Kathy recalls her days growing up at Hailsham, an exclusive school in England. Exactly where in England is never specified-Kathy herself doesn’t even seem to remember. This is just one of a series of omissions and other oddities that grow increasingly difficult to overlook as the story progresses.

GR

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Gina R. Dalfonzo

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KAZUO ISHIGURO is known for writing stories told in a calm, almost remote manner by narrators who have lived through tumultuous times-the bombing of Nagasaki, for instance, or Hitler’s rise to power. The narrators give the impression that the only way they can share their memories is to stand at a safe distance from them. The tone is well chosen for such characters as the reserved English butler in Ishiguro’s most famous novel, The Remains of the Day; but it gains a strange new power when used to tell a horror story.

Ishiguro’s new book, Never Let Me Go, is set in the recent past and narrated by a 31-year-old woman who introduces herself simply as Kathy H. In a series of impressionistic flashbacks, Kathy recalls her days growing up at Hailsham, an exclusive school in England. Exactly where in England is never specified-Kathy herself doesn’t even seem to remember. This is just one of a series of omissions and other oddities that grow increasingly difficult to overlook as the story progresses.