When God Was a Rabbit

When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman
This book had been one I was hoping to read for years. I'd seen it on book shelves and displays in book stores repeatedly with the vague notion that I would buy it and read it one day. How can the title not intrigue you? pull you in? It did for me, and was a a 'to-read' book that was always at the back of my mind. When i spotted it in my favourite used bookstore Barter Books in Northumberland, it was as though the book gods at bestowed it on me. Hadn't I been meaning to read that all along? And so first began When God Was A Rabbit.

Unfortunately, it was not what I had expected. To be completely frank, I'm not sure WHAT I had expected, but it seemed to me it was if not a different tale, than one with a different voice or tone to it. But, never mind. The main character - a young girl named Elly - was still interesting, and her connection to her brother still paramount. Jenny Penny, Elly's childhood best friend, became both the interest, the heart and the comedy through those early chapters.

But as the novel progressed, it seemed to crumble. Experiences became displaced and as a result, uninteresting. It was difficult to stay attached to a narrative that jumped forward in time without explanation, so that characters became older without an real sense of age or time passing. There were moves geographically both winton England and the US so that by the end I was unsure which country Elly called home. Characters entered, left and reappeared such a fleeting way as to make them trivial or forgettable - I regret to admit sometimes I had a hard time remembering which fringe character was which - and the narrative further complicated this by referring for long periods to a character as "He" or "She" at the beginnings of chapters, therefore making it nearly impossible to know which character was being spoken about aside from through guesswork and inference. It was extremely frustrating as very little detail was given through which such inferences could have been made.

Sexually was often poking up in the novel in such a way that it should have been a theme, really, but it's sporadic and again, random occurrences prevented it from holding any sort of true stock in the novel. This could have been a real grounding factor as her brother's homosexuality and in turn his relation to childhood friend Charlie formed a key connection between characters and in many way created a thread throughout the novel, but the thread lacked substance and connectivity. Similarly, Nancy, Elly's Aunt, was a pillar of confidence and again, homosexuality. She was bold, free and loveable to all characters in the novel and in turn, she loved others - most interestingly, Elly often noticed that Nancy appeared to be in love with Elly's own mother (and Nancy's sister in law).

Relations, sex and love were constantly in question throughout When God was A Rabbit, but ultimately for me, it was this lack of connectivity - between the scenes of the novel themselves and in turn between the novel and the reader, that prevented both a clear theme and any interest in the characters and their lives on my part.

It is a shame, really, because there were glimmers of something I wanted to know in the novel - the pet rabbit who was named God (which after all inspired the very titled of the novel) was a wonderful narrative concept. The juxtaposition of childhood innocence in a pet rabbit and the grandeur of naming him God was beautiful in and of itself. Furthermore God appears to speak to Elly in such a way that only she can hear, which begs questions of spirituality and wisdom that spark a reader's imagination. Unfortunately, this character was not touched on enough or for long enough, in my opinion.

Similarly, Jenny Penny is a wonderfully interesting character full of reckless abandon and joy in the face of what is clearly a difficult childhood. She is lost to the novel and reappears in time like so many other themes and characters in this narrative. For once, though, I feel that story projection fitting. Her disappearance marks growing up, her return a chance to evaluate past and present. the problem, then, was that this storyline did not become the central one of the novel. to me, it was the tale which I could best hold on to - the one i found to be the most interesting, and my biggest complaint was that I did not get enough of it. Jenny Penny and her relationship with Elly became bogged down and tangled in daily chores and random sexual encounters that simply seemed irrelevant to me as a reader. I cared little for Elly and the rambling way she saw life, but her relationship with Jenny Penny - that was where the heart of the novel truly lay, and that was where I feel more of the focus should have been.

I fear that in my review I have done much the same thing I complained about in the novel - jumped around and rambled on in a non-linear and therefore confusing way, but I shall make my final statement thus: the novel lacked focus, and as such, heart. If it were to be stripped down, the fluff removed, and strong clear intention found, there could have been a great story of growing up and losing innocence, but this heartfelt theme got tangled in irrelevancies and therefore became rather irrelevant for me as a reader.
A disappointment, really, I'm sorry to say.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a wonderfully insightful and heartfelt book. True and unabashed, it provides a real and honest tale of struggle and victory for main character Christopher. Christopher, a 15 year old precocious young boy with autism narrates the tale with wit and wisdom. He sees the world in a way far different from most, which sheds light on many of the things often overlooked by the general public. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is not only a great commentary on life with autism, but a heart warming tale of the love and failures of family. Christopher is both exceptionally bright, and extremely solitary. He does not ever liked to be touched, a trait which manages to get him in to trouble with the police, and he tends to interact with others in a very matter-of-fact, purpose driven way. He tells the reader that it can be very difficult to understand facial expressions and metaphor, but alternatively, he has one of the most impressive mathematical brains out there. This unique combination of traits makes Christopher an exceptionally interesting narrator, and he informs the audience in a very factual and insightful way. He questions things in a way which many of us would not, and sees the world in a much more black and white fashion. Because of this, we learn, his home life is not always easy.

Enter Christopher's father, loving and currently the soul provider and carer. Christopher's father shows an unconditional love for his son, and a deep understanding of the way Christopher's mind works. Despite this, though, he can become frustrated with Christopher's need to investigate and unravel the mystery of who killed the neighbour's dog. It is this investigation which pushes Christopher to question neighbours, poke around for evidence, and generally get up to things that his father thinks he ought not to.

As Christopher begins to uncover bits of information about the dead dog, secrets previously hidden are brought to light concerning his family, and his community. As the new information starts to build up, Christopher pieces together an even greater mystery than that of the dog which sends him on a journey of self discovery. This journey tests him far more than anything he has encountered as he fights against the daunting world around him, faces trials, and begins to overcome set backs he previously thought impossible to face.

A tale of bravery and love, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time highlights the importance of seeing the world through someone else's eyes, the troubles and rifts this causes, and ultimately, the love which can overcome any such differences. A true triumph, Mark Haddon tells a tale very rarely heard.

The Understudy

The Understudy, by David Nicholls (One Day, Starter For Ten) is a painfully realistic tale about one Steven C McQueen, a pained divorcee, struggling actor and hopelessly unlucky understudy to the increasingly famous and dreamy Josh Harper. Steven is an endearing character. Real, flawed, and often foolish, we follow his naively optimistic dreams of making it big in the world of theatre. The reality, of course, is that Steven is floundering along, too old to still be waiting for his big break, slowly sinking beneath the shadow of the stars.

But when Steven inadvertently mistakes Josh's job offer of catering services as a personal party invitation, Steven's life is shot into the twisted glamourous and yet oh so dark world of fame. It is Nora, Josh's wife, that really does it for Steven. One chance meeting and they fall quickly into a strange and loaded friendship as Steven becomes Josh's confidant. Caught between spouses, making friendships with those he envies, Steven struggles to navigate through a life continually riddled with ever increasing disappointment.

Nicholls' dark dry humour paints the scene for Steven's self deprecation and careful optimism, countered with the brash roughness of Nora's New York style which (not so delicately) highlights the rough side that is fame and fortune. One reaching for the dream, the other a grounding sense of reality, Nicholls expertly manoeuvres his way through the busy London streets, debaucherous start studded after parties, and rundown apartments engaging the reader with a sense of hoping and looming misfortunate. A real, human story, one cannot help but invest their own aspirations, disappointments and veiled selfish desires in Steven, and thus, connect wholeheartedly with his story.

By Request

Polly Courtney's Feral Youth dives headlong into the life of 15 year old Alesha, a young girl from South London just trying to rep her endz and keep all the right affiliations with Peckham Crew. From the start, it is made clear that Alesha is a hard edged fighter of a youth, shaped and roughened by circumstance and necessity. An absent father and a mother that's negligent at best paint a vague background of Alesha's past, engraining an idea that without true family, street fam is all she has. That's where JJ comes in - best friend, brother figure, and the closest thing Alesha has to a real family. It is her connections with JJ that drive most of her wishes and decisions as she struggles her way through street life, bouncing from dodgy flats to hostels, robbing, shoplifting and running errands for the Crew to make ends meet.

At it's heart, Feral Youth is a coming of age story which documents the struggles of an inner city youth pushed around from place to place, and her journey to gain confidence in her self and the ability to change the outcome of her life. Bouncing between legitimizing her life with the help of her once piano teacher Miss Merfield and giving in to the ease of money making through drug deals, black market sales, and general thievery, the reader watches Alesha flip flop her way through the novel, unable to gain the drive to pull herself out of her current lifestyle - one she is smart enough to be scared of, but not strong enough to want to leave: it's familiar, its immediately gratifying, and she's GOOD at it.

Courtney engulfs the reader in the world of Alesha, and gang affiliated life, painting the scene through Alesha's own thoughts and eyes - her very specific catalogue of diction and slang terms reinforcing the believability of her circumstance. We are inside her mind, and feel what she does which often times is the only way the reader would be able to understand the thought process or presumed logic of situations.

While the novel does well to depict the life of a disadvantaged young girl, and further contrast it to the (assumed) privilege born into others, there is an oversimplification which pervades the story. Alesha is motivated by survival - and on occasion, a need to ensure other's (JJ's) survival. Survival in itself is not a simple motivator, and yet the novel fixates on the living from day to day so much that greater motivations, intents, and emotions fall short. As a reader you care about Alesha because you feel sorry for her, and pity is not exactly the primary emotion you want a reader to feel for your character. Of course, there are situations and plots that need sympathy, but I wanted to properly connect with Alesha, understand her, and instead I found myself unsure when she would throw a tantrum and walk out on benefactor Miss Merfield and when she would have one of her 'the mother I never had' moments. While mood swings and angst are natural for a 15 year old girl, too much became for story convenience, and the continual back and forth bordered on the repetitive rather than enhancing Alesha's lack of self confidence. There were moments of course - times with Tisha primarily where I remembered that Alesha was still just a lost 15 year old girl, but these moments were too brief or too surface to fully grab hold of.

 Similarly, the revelation which final converts Alesha after various false starts, failed attempts and cases of giving up, is a simple reveal of a character who is successful, or at least appears to be, living in a posh world with nice clothes, despite having originally come from an estate. While this is a legitimate device to spur a character change in Alesha, the scene falls a bit flat after the months of pep talks, examples and support Alesha has been given to pull out of Crew life. I was frustrated by her because she did not seem to WANT to help herself for much of the novel - it is one thing to try and fail and get discouraged, but without full insight into her emotional side, these instances of failure felt less like tragic crippling self doubt, and more like a child too lazy to put in any hard work. I wanted to KNOW Alesha, what makes her tick, and was only offered brief glimpses of this in piano keys and her connection with JJ. Both could have been explored with more detail as they were reoccurring, though often unexplored themes throughout.

The emphasis on the riot itself, provided a window into youth and gang culture in a way which began to explore pack mentality, the contagion of rage and a need for action, the BBM messages highlighting the rapidity with which a collective can form, swell, and above all unite against a common theme. The tables were turned in order to show the deep rooted frustrations of a culture and society constantly put down and suppressed by ruling powers and the inevitable explosion that follows. Here the reader began to see more of Alesha - smashing in windows releasing pent up rage at all the people and things that have pushed her down. It is the depiction of those who destroy things out of envy - destruction of what they cannot have - and it is a powerful concept. But the truth remains that crime was crime - it was not food stolen for survival, but cell phones and technologies. While we feel for the caged bird, it can be hard from a readers perspective not to also call for justice.

This then is the dichotomy which encompassed my view of the novel. While I emphasized with the hardships of Alesha's life, I wanted more from her in terms of motivation. While I applauded Miss Merfield's benevolence, I chastised Alesha for her laziness. She had moments of gratitude, of pride, of will, yet I struggled throughout to support someone so blatantly turning to crime and drug trafficking. There may have been necessity there, but battling on through adversity is admirable - giving up is allowable - but lacking the ability to try - the DESIRE to, is frustrating.

Overall, Courtney does well to create a window into Alesha's world - the world of South, of streets, of Crew and of poverty, but I want more than a window; I want to step into that world and get lost there.

Sherlock

Sherlock Holmes, the iconic detective character. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has managed to create a character that withstands the test of time, and, in recent years, seems to only be growing in popularity. From the Blockbuster starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law (an impeccable match) or the BBC modern day series simply titled 'Sherlock' starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, the Memoirs and Adventures of Sherlock Holmes live on.

Having recently read a large number of the iconic stories, I must admit, it makes sense to see so many of the plots adapted to screen - they are intriguing riddles which lend themselves far better to film than to print. Because really, being told in point-by-point factual reports of the minute details which lead to discovery is not entirely suspenseful or exciting. Sure, there is interest and intrigue and most definitely a sense of awe, but it's a report. It's not a... story.

So it seems that it is the mystery of how Sherlock can be so effortlessly observant, the question of the character himself rather than each individual storyline. We are captured by him, and his unusual character and, in turn, the humourous relation between himself and Watson, far more than we care to know 'who-done-it'. And thus, Sherlock becomes the perfectly malleable, transient character. You can move him through time and era effortlessly, changing crime and mystery to fit. Because that's not the part the matters to us. We, like Watson, simply want to watch the genius at work.

Pride & Prejudice

What to say about Jane Austen that hasn't been said before? I was a sceptic. Actually, I'd read about half of Mansfield Park years ago for University, and been so thoroughly bored an unimpressed I never finish. (don't tell). However, Pride and Prejudice is a classic, and on that principle alone I 'wanted' to read it eventually. Add to that my best friend Larissa pushing me to pick it up - a good recommendation from her is certainly held in high regard - and another friend not only telling me to read it, but informing me of my likeness to one of the characters. I was too intrigued to say no.
Plus, I already owned a copy sitting patiently on my bookcase.

My thoughts?
Well, it is still an Austen, so as far as action, adventure, major events, mass plots or any such thing - it certainly fails. However, that does not mean it is as entirely boring as I may have previously thought.
The novel of course, is driven by character, and the characters of both Elizabeth Bennett, Mr Darcy and Mrs Bennett provide a rather interesting mix. Eliza is what drives the story. She is the focus, the most interesting, and arguably the most relatable character in the novel.

Blunt, intelligent, witty and lively, Eliza goes against the subdued gentle nature that is generally attributed to young girls of her time. This in itself, prevents the story from becoming dull and (overly) predictable, as she acts upon her thoughts and feelings in a more direct way than say, her sisters would. Likewise, her interactions with Mr Darcy, especially in the later chapters of the book show spunk, wit and a playful banter otherwise unseen in the novel. This break of period convention helps to open the classical novel to new readers through the ages as Eliza takes on a more time transient role, no longer entirely fixed within the confines of her time period. She is a timeless character, and that it was what makes the novel work.

Because otherwise, it's not exactly thrilling.

Something about it, though, remains beloved to readers through the generations. Young girls swoon for Mr Darcy - and not just because he is usually a good-look brit in modern-day movie adaptations. There is something about him girls adore. I am intruiged as to what exactly this is. I quite enjoy his character, his refined, shrewd and blunt nature, and yet - for him to have become a symbol of 'the perfect man' ? that doesn't entirely make sense, does it? Perhaps it is the fact that his love for her seems inexplicable to him, that he cannot understand what it is that turned his opinion of her, or why, but rather that the pair seemed drawn to each other - destined in a way. Maybe that's it. Maybe it is the fact that ELiza IS different, that she isn't the beauty that her older sister is, perhaps it is that she holds her own and does not give in the Darcy's advances at first. That she changed him, in some way, or that she refused to let him change her.

I truly am unsure of just what it is that marks the relationship of Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett as so ideal, but there it is. A standing -non mushy - non romanticized - love that has lasted through the years.

My advise? Give the book a read for yourself and see if you can figure it out.

Starter For Ten

"All young people worry about things, it's a natural and inevitable part of growing up, and at the age of sixteen my greatest anxiety in life was that I'd never again achieve anything as good, or pure, or noble, or true, as my O-level results."

A poignant and raw look into the inner workings of the eighteen year old Brian Jackson, upon his entry into University, Starter For Ten by David Nicholls is not so much a straight forward coming of age as it is an uncovering of what University life really is about - what knowledge means, and the lessons school cannot teach you. Inherantly smart and hard working, Brian is a rather typical book-smart student lacking the comfort and ease of social structure and easy friendships. But behind the simple structure of his character is the burning desire to bring pride to his mother and deceased father, and clinging to knowledge - specifically University Challenge which he connects inadvertently to memory of his dad, and  longing for love and acceptance from the University sweetheart "beautiful and knows it" Alice.


Brian has big dreams for University - and high expectations. Ever focused on school work above all else, it is his sole belief that hard work and dedication will bring him the future he desires. This humorous and ironic passage depicts not only Brian's hopes for the future, but more poignantly, his sheer lack of understanding of how the world really does work.

“I want to be able to listen to recording of piano sonatas and know who's playing. I want to go to classical concerts and know when you're meant to clap. I want to be able to 'get' modern jazz without it all sounding like this terrible mistake, and I want to know who the Velvet Underground are exactly. I want to be fully engaged in the World of Ideas, I want to understand complex economics, and what people see in Bob Dylan. I want to possess radical but humane and well-informed political ideals, and I want to hold passionate but reasoned debates round wooden kitchen tables, saying things like 'define your terms!' and 'your premise is patently specious!' and then suddenly to discover that the sun's come up and we've been talking all night. I want to use words like 'eponymous' and 'solipsistic' and 'utilitarian' with confidence. I want to learn to appreciate fine wines, and exotic liquers, and fine single malts, and learn how to drink them without turning into a complete div, and to eat strange and exotic foods, plovers' eggs and lobster thermidor, things that sound barely edible, or that I can't pronounce...Most of all I want to read books; books thick as brick, leather-bound books with incredibly thin paper and those purple ribbons to mark where you left off; cheap, dusty, second-hand books of collected verse, incredibly expensive, imported books of incomprehensible essays from foregin universities.

At some point I'd like to have an original idea...And all of these are the things that a university education's going to give me.”

Set from 1985-86, the novel is a commentary on social class and societal structure, often addressing Brian's understandings of money and privilege (shown in both the character of the seemingly perfect Alice and various boarding-school types) in contrast to his own working-class single parent upbringing (his father having died when Brian was 12). No where is anti-classism more evident, though than in the brash, passionate character of Rebecca who through a chance meeting at a party becomes in an awkward, Brian way, one of Brian's closest (and indeed one of few real) friends. Relying heavily on Brian's self deprecating wit and humour, manifested primarily in his narrative (first person) voice, and Rebecca's hard edged honesty and banter, Nicholls adds a light and admittedly very funny tone to the would-be heavy novel. There is an obliviousness, and an extremely narrow sighted optimism in Brian which drives not only his actions but the manner in which he sees - and therefore narrates - the world around him.


Despite a keen interest in his studies and efforts otherwise, Brian very quickly finds himself an outsider, marking this down to class difference and upbringing more than anything else. Reflecting on his own lack of personal connections, he contrasts his way of life with that of Alice's, as she states she enjoys her independence, realizing in doing so, just how alone he has become:


"Independence is the luxury of all those people who are too confident, and busy, and popular, and attractive to be just plain old lonely. And make no mistake, lonely is absolutely the worst thing to be. Tell someone that you've got a drink problem, or an eating disorder, or your dad died when you were a kid even, and you can almost see their eyes light up with the sheer fascinating drama and pathos of it all, because you've got an issue, something for them to get involved in, to talk about and analyse and discuss and maybe even cure. But tell someone you’re lonely and of course they’ll seem sympathetic, but look very carefully and you'll see one hand snaking behind their back, groping for the door handle, ready to make a run for it, as if loneliness itself were contagious. Because being lonely is just so banal, so shaming, so plain and dull and ugly."


Brian has lived the majority of his life with people grasping for the door handle, but for so long has not been able to see it. As his paper-perfect University career begins to spin around him, odd friendships, failed relations, let downs and confrontations lead Brian to discover that though he might be full of knowledge worthy of quiz shows, he is, inevitably, ignorant to the world in a manner far beyond his comprehension, and, indeed, doesn't even know who he is. 


“I contemplate the idea that maybe I'm an alcoholic. I get this occassionally, the need to define myself as something-or-the-other, and at various times in my life have wondered if I'm a Goth, a homosexul, a Jew, a Catholic or a manic depressive, whether I am adopted, or have a hole in my heart, or possess the ability to move objects with the power of my mind, and have always, most regretfully, come to the conclusion that I'm none of the above. The fact is I'm actually not ANYTHING.”


A realist often sarcastic and extremely humorous novel, Starter for Ten outlines not only the base lines of lasting grief and inherent loneliness, but the meanings of friendship, the awkwardness of young adult relations, and ultimately, the true value of knowledge (and whether or not knowledge is really the same thing as intelligence). 

One Day

When was the last time you read a book that was so good, so filling, so all consuming that you just couldn't put it down. You spent hours on end turning page after page, completely happy to spend the day wrapped up in whatever it was you were reading. For me, that book was One Day by David Nicholls. A painfully realistic, witty and sentimental novel, the characters and their lives grabbed hold of me from the very first line, and had me until the end.

The Novel, which has now become a Motion Picture (which I am both intrigued and terrified to watch, incidentally), revolves around the concept of one seemingly ordinary day - July 15th, to be exact, and visits the lives of the two main characters - Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley - on that day from 1988 and every year onward. Whether the characters are together or apart on that day, the narrative ties them together throughout the novel as the two discover what it means to grow up and remain (or fail to stay) [best] friends.

The style and voice of his writing is at once sentimental and powerfully moving (I must admit it brought me to tears on a few occasions), and wonderfully hilarious and witty – I even laughed out loud, something I RARELY do while reading. The humour: snappy, occasionally dark, and always understated was not only brilliant in its own right, but served to balance beautifully against the darker or dramatic aspects of the novel, making it a well rounded complete story.

The very style of the narrative – highlighting merely one day in a year of a life, allows for Nicholls not only to move quickly through time, but also to pull together a larger picture of actions and consequences. While we never see the ‘day after’ effect, we instead see the characters the following year, and can connect the dots as to which events we saw previously were trivial in the grand scheme of things, and which became pivotal life moments. Nicholls brilliantly handless the difficult task of keeping the reader connected and up to date with the lives of the characters without revealing too much or plunging into the boring tedium of daily life. By carefully constructing events and encounters around July 15^th he keeps the story both interesting and progressing, while firmly rooting himself in the rolls of an average and – exceptionally realistic – life.

The novel has an authentic, genuine quality to it which I personally found added immensely to the character of the novel as a whole, and thus my connection and emotional ties to the story. Set in Scotland and England primarily, with a heavy focus on Edinburgh and London, I couldn't help but love it just that little bit more, having recently visited both countries, and cities. The details in the novel such as street names, slang terms and landmarks were such that they familiarized the story to any reader with a good knowledge of the cities, but did not detract from any readers which may not. It made a nice change to read the story from view of a friend relaying a life compared to what can be described as 'informative narrative' [not sure if that's a real term or I've just made it up] which not-so-subtly explains culturally specific references to readers. 

Similarly, and more importantly, Nicholls paints his characters in sharp relief creating similarly real, relatable characters. They are, each in turn, both loveable and detestable as any human being would be. Dexter, who we might assume is a stereotype of the suave always-trying-to-be-cool guy: "He wanted to live life in such a way that if a photograph were taken at random, it would be a cool photograph" is soon revealed to be so much more than just an image, with all his triumphs and failings, rounding him into a complex believable character I couldn't help but imagine as real. Emma, on the other hand, is shown first to be the anti-conformist: "The problem with these fiercely individualistic girls was that they were all exactly the same. Another book: The man who mistook his wife for a hat. Silly bloody fool, he thought, confident that it was not a mistake he would ever make." but is soon revealed with her own set of short comings and secret assets. By the end of the story their lives are told with such complex detail, in such a realistic rollercoaster of events and emotions, that I couldn't help but think for a brief moment that the author could very easily have written his life story, for all the reality it seemed to hold. Of course, neither Emma nor Dexter are modelled after David Nicholls himself, but it is a testament to his talent that it seemed (for a moment) as such.

Though I think a great deal of why I SO connected to the novel was my own personal ability to relate so strongly with the character of Emma, I found this novel both engrossing and emotionally engaging in a way which to me suggested skill beyond circumstance. Regardless of whether I saw myself in Emma, I cared immensely for both (and all) characters within the novel, where their lives would lead, if they might reconcile differences with other characters or live out their dreams. A story, put simply, about life itself, David Nicholls One Day was just that – a beautiful glimpse, once a year, into the everyday (and therefore extremely complex) lives of two common Brits. Even when things didn’t turn out as you wanted them to – a quality in plot I find most admirable in one’s writing, you pour your heart into reading it just the same, and all the more. What more could you possibly ask for?

Never Let Me Go

The acclaimed novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a wonderful balance of ignorance and knowledge: "The problem, as I see it, is that you've been told and not told. You've been told, but none of you really understand, and I dare say, some people are quite happy to leave it that way." Kathy, the novel's main character and narrator recalls being told this in her childhood years at Hailsham boarding school - this qoute sums up the way in which Kathy interacts with the reader for the majority of the novel: from the on set, the narator [kathy] makes it clear that she is a 'carer' but it is left to the reader to piece together bits of information - just as the students did at Hailsham - in order to get a grasp on what a 'carer' in the novel's context, even is.

The novel outlines the coming of age, and subsequent years of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy within the greater context of a rare boarding school in east Sussex. Though the reader is not told a great deal about the school or the students outright, as the novel progresses through the first few chapters, it is clear that these are not ordinary students, and the Guardians do not treat them in the way you might expect. It's hard to pinpoint exactly when you realize that the youths are not so much students as they are walking donations to be used commodity-style. Once this concept is grasped, it is a quick jump to full realization that the students are in fact copies of 'original' citizens used as 'donors' for their vital organs. The reader is eventually told this outright, but it is with a sense that you already expected what was coming - somehow, you knew it was coming. "All children have to be deceived if they are to grow up without trauma." This is the same way the students interact in Hailsham, piecing together concepts and understandings without fully knowing the full picture. The effect of such subtle revelation is one of intimacy with the characters and leans towards a greater connectivity with the would-be unrelatable environment of the novel.

Though the clone/donor concept is certainly not an original one, Never Let Me Go certainly does not seem overdone, nor repetative. The style and manner in which it is written - and more specifically the careful subtle ways the three main characters maneuver through a world frought with inevitability, truly draws the reader in and puts a touching spin on an idea that might otherwise be considered "sci-fi'. Instead the novel is expressly drama, coming of age, and sentimental, exploring the complexities of knowledge and innocence, through revelation and careful curiousity. In this manner Ishiguro explores what it means to serve a societal purpose, what it is to really live, and the human soul (and what evidences might be used to prove such a thing exists).

"We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time."