Mind Fuck by Manna Francis (The Administration #1)

Synopsis:
There are no bad guys or good guys. There are only better guys and worse guys. One of the worse guys is Val Toreth. In a world in which torture is a legitimate part of the investigative process, he works for the Investigation and Interrogation Division, where his colleagues can be more dangerous than the criminals he investigates. One of the better guys is Keir Warrick. His small corporation, SimTech, is developing a "sim" system that places users in a fully immersive virtual reality. A minnow in a murky and dangerous pond, he is only beginning to discover how many compromises may be required for success. 

Their home is the dark future dystopia of New London. A totalitarian bureaucracy controls the European Administration, sharing political power with the corporations. The government uses violence and the many divisions of the feared Department of Internal Security to maintain control and crush resistance. The corporations fight among themselves, using lethal force under the euphemism of "corporate sabotage," uniting only to resist attempts by the Administration to extend its influence over them. Toreth and Warrick are more natural enemies than allies. But mutual attraction and the fight for survival can create unlikely bonds

I thought about giving this book five stars.

As the days and weeks went by and I failed to write a proper review, I realised I’d made the right decision. Mind Fuck is a really good book but it’s not extraordinary.

In the dystopic future there’s the Administration. There aren’t really any nations, just regional Administrations and corporations that control people’s lives. This is a world where everything is monitored unless it’s not—to protect business secrets—and where torture is legalised.

That’s where Toreth works: In Investigation and Interrogation, I&I. He goes through mountains of paperwork, adjusts drug dosages and on an occasion handles the more precise tools of the trade. He also has irregular one-night stands under assumed names in hotel rooms he charges his employer for.

All in all, it’s a good life. Then he meets Warrick.

Just as Toreth has sold his life to the Administration, Warrick has tied himself to the corporations. He’s brilliant and just as emotionally challenged as Toreth is, albeit in his own way. These two men, they get under each other’s skin and can’t quite get rid of one another. Logic and life experience dictates that they must, but a convenient murder mystery ensures they can’t.

Mind Fuck is as light on the erotica and BDSM as it is on the world building. Still, I got the feeling everything had been thought through and that the author is asking the reader to trust her while she properly introduces the characters. Looking at the long list of The Administration series novellas and novels there’s a lot left to explore. Still, I wouldn’t recommend this to the fans of pure dystopia as much as to the fans of slow-burn m/m. The world and the predictable mystery only serve as a pale background to the characters.

And the characters are wonderful. They’re neither perfectly healthy, normal, or anyone I’d want to know in real life, but they are interesting. Their relationship is interesting. Their struggle to discern reality from the artificial and will to survive their circumstances is interesting. This story is interesting

If you don’t mind a narrative where the third person limited voice occasionally slips into first or that the story draggs from time to time, this is a book worth reading.

Review: Nekropolis by Maureen F. McHugh

Form: pdf e-book
Genre: sci-fi/dystopia/paranormal romance

Target audience: adults

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Fleeing an empty future in the Nekropolis, twenty-one-year-old Hariba has agreed to undergo "jessing," the technobiological process that will render her subservient to whomever has purchased her services. Indentured in the house of a wealthy merchant as a female manager, she encounters many wondrous things. Yet nothing there is as remarkable and disturbing to her as the "harni," Akhmim. A perfect replica of a man, this intelligent, machine-bred creature unsettles Hariba with its beauty, its naive, inappropriate tenderness . . . and with prying, unanswerable questions, like "Why are you sad?" Slowly, revulsion metamorphoses into acceptance, and then into something much more. But these outlaw emotions defy the strict edicts of God and Man -- feelings that must never be explored, since no master would tolerate them. And the "jessed" who defy their master's will  risk sickness, pain, imprisonment . . . and perhaps also death. Will Hariba manage to escape her prison?

What I liked:

Firstly let me tell you that I fully appreciated the original setting of this novel - how many books you've read take place in Morocco and combine the local culture with sci-fi elements? The concept of a chemically indentured woman in an ultraconservative future version of an Arab country, who, knowing fully well it is forbidden, falls in love with an artificially made 'harni' man, is intriguing.
Hariba met the humanoid flesh-and-blood construct (genetically engineered chimera, whatever you want to call it, with 98% of human DNA and some special additions) and ends up asking herself, "How we can escape and be happy?" What's better McHugh refuses easy answers and simple characterizations, showing her characters' ambivalent relationships with freedom, and the ways that they willingly give it up  for love and security.

McHugh's prose was solid and the pacing was fantastic - the story never once dragged unnecessarily or shot ahead; it was also very engaging, I had to finish it no matter what.  It's told in alternating first-person narration chapters, first by the main heroine, then by her harni not-quite-lover, then her mother, then her best friend, and then finally one last bit we know once again from the perspective of Hariba. I very much enjoyed the immediacy of the first person narration from three very different women within the same society (the jessed domestic worker without any future, the shamed widow, the 'successful' wife and mother), and I enjoyed seeing how their relationships played out, with all the resentments and pettiness and deep, unswerving loyalty, even over their anger and disgust. Still the best chapter in my humble opinion belongs to Akhmim - the best because it showed all the weirdness of him being a 'construct', a being nobody truly understands or wants to understand, not even his mistress or beloved Hariba. It made me question many things taken for granted while reading other chapters.

Finally let me say that I was satisfied with the ending - it felt very true. A new life, new opportunities, new choices - and everything going to shit anyway. I would have been disappointed if it all turned out rosy and sweet, but McHugh knows better. Even the way it all slowly disintegrated was appropriate; there was no explosion, no drama, just a gradual dissolution and detachment. I just wish the author also showed us Akhmim's assessment of the whole situation, especially the changes he'd undergone - I kind of missed his narration.

What I didn't like:

I admit I would want more sci-fi elements in this one. The chapter narrated by Akhmim was far too short and not especially revealing when it comes to the whole process of creating a 'harni'. I did want to know more and I wasn't given an opportunity to find out.

Finally the title...my main carping is that it doesn't reflect the content well. No, it is not a book about living in a cemetery. Most of it doesn't even take place in a cemetery or necropolis of any kind. Personally I found it a bit misleading. Not to mention the fact that the cover art is rather bland.

Final verdict:

One of more original sci-fi flavoured novels I've read this year. What a pity it wasn't continued by the author - with so many questions unanswered fully I really wouldn't say 'no' to a second or even a third part.

Review: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, Yuji Oniki

Cover (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Book info:
Form: pdf format
Genre: YA dystopia/thriller
Target audience: fans of Japanese culture and dystopia but definitely older YA and adults

Synopsis:

Welcome to a dystopian East Asian country (like Japan but larger) where people live happily and peacefully under the watchful eye of your average, sadistic Dictator. In order to keep things straight under control once a year a class of 15-year-old junior high kids is sent to an enclosed location. The kids are given different weapons at random, weapons as different as an Uzi is different from an ice pick or a crossbow from a fork, a day pack with a bottle of water and they are told to go and kill each other. The last survivor wins. It is called the Program. If it serves a purpose nobody knows what purpose exactly.

In order to ensure there is no cheating (you know those pesky teens, they always cheat) each of the students is fitted with a nice shiny collar which allows the organizers to check their condition, track them and listen to their conversations. The collar has also an in-built explosive device. No deaths for longer than 24 hours? All participants are eliminated. More than one survivor? All the rest is eliminated as well. Trying to hide somewhere for too long or trying to run away? The same outcome – you are blown up to smithereens.

You follow 42 students – the newest batch of victims – who have to participate in the Program. Who will win this time: energetic Yukie, the class Representative, selfish and manipulative Mitsuke, acting as if she was a female Yakuza mobster, mysterious Kazuo, a boy so gifted and so calm that he is followed and admired even by thugs, Noriko, just your ordinary, averagely pretty girl, or maybe Shuya, a kind orphan boy who likes those forbidden rock and roll songs and plays the electric guitar? Or maybe somebody else? Can anybody truly be a winner in such circumstances?

What I liked:

There were many stories included in one bigger story and I found them the best part of  this book. More than dozen of students were given an opportunity to tell you about their hopes and fears. Because of that they became real, three-dimensional characters, not just a shooting range dummies. It was really the "good stuff"  for me - watching all the little petty relationships, conflicts and problems you have when you are 15 suddenly twisted horribly by the extreme fear of knowing only one person will be allowed to live and your classmates and friends have to become your deadly enemies.

Of course there was violence, quite a lot of it, but I would compare it to one of these cheesy movies of Tarantino - you are disgusted, you know it is bad but you still want to watch. Indeed it might be treated as great entertainment only by people with a tolerance for high amounts of guts-and-gore, but, as it was also a really well-done study of the psychology of extreme fear and included some insights about totalitarianism as well  somehow I managed to survive. The personal stories, often told in an almost poetic way, stop Battle Royale from spiraling into a mindless bloodbath.

What I didn’t like:

First let me tell you that the first 50-60 pages were downright boring. Then the action accelerated and here I hit another snag - Battle Royale was a lot more graphic than I'd imagined. So instead of puking up the contents of my stomach, after a while I just skipped the paragraphs describing blood and bashed-in brains. In fact from time to time the plot was so childish that it reminded me those computer games when you kill and kill and kill and finally you forget about the reason why you keep doing it because it doesn’t matter as long as the next opponent lies, neutralized, in a puddle of blood. Frankly the detailed descriptions of different violent deaths were horribly ridiculous.

Shuya Nanahara as he appears in the manga. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What’s more even from the first chapter the plot was rather obvious – you could guess with a high success rate who would be killed and how soon.  The style of the narrative I also found a bit uneven, or maybe it was the problem with the translation, I really can’t tell. Anyway the descriptions were very anime, which makes me think that if the writing had been really beautiful, or if any of the emotions had been deeper, I may have liked this book a lot better.

Finally the ending…I must say I was completely disappointed by it. It was a ridiculous and artificial construction of a plot-twist after a plot-twist (so you thought they were really dead?! No! They are alive! No, wait, they are going to be dead soon...or maybe not?). I was not amused.

Final verdict:

Personally I liked this novel despite its many flaws but in my view it is not perfect and certainly not for everybody. Still cult novels (yes, it is one of them) are so hard to resist so how to tell whether or not it is your next best thing? Well, if you salivate at the mere thought of a book which combines Manga and Anime poesy, Hunger Games-style action, Lord of the Flies political undercurrents and an amount of atrocities straight from Quentin Tarantino movies this might be a perfect read for you. Do not read it if you are feeling nauseous even after my quite innocuous synopsis. Helpful? I hope so. 

Mini review - Overwinter: A Werewolf Tale by David Wellington

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; Original edition (September 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307460797
• ISBN-13: 978-0307460790

Genre: fantasy fiction, dystopia
Target audience: adults


Synopsis:

Powell and Cheyenne, a pair of werewolves from the first novel in this series, Frostbite, are trying to spend safely their first arctic winter still looking for a cure for their state. It happens somebody else is looking for them and that particular somebody means trouble big time. Her name is Lucie. She is a sadistic French werewolf girl who had bitten Powell some hundred years ago and now treats him as her husband. Having made a total mess of her latest Siberia hideout, she decided the ground under her dainty feet was too hot - she left for Cananda to find some backup. She joins her former lover and creation asking for Powell's protection. And killing a bar full of innocent people on her way just because she felt like it. As you can imagine Chey and Powell are less than thrilled – the attention of the local authorities and law enforcement is the last thing they want. Especially that Chey starts having some very worrying symptoms - apparently her wolf is becoming stronger than her human nature but if she allows the wolf prevail she will end up insane. The time for finding a cure is becoming short indeed.

Lucie is closely followed by Varkanin, an elderly but still hale and hearty Russian hunter who had shot her back in Siberia and whose family she destroyed -  in retalliation she murdered all of his three adult daughters. Varkanin is very motivated to find Lucie and make her pay for her sadism. He is also a formidable opponent, with his specnaz training and a lot of colloidal silver inside his body. Additionally he is given substantial support from the side of Preston Holness, a shadowy figure working for the Canadian government. Holness specializes in unsavoury deals the government needs but officially would abhor like using prohibited land mines, depleted uranium bullets or killing off a bunch of werewolves just because they operate in an area rich in oil a big oil company is interested in.

Will Powell find a cure? Will Lucie let him stay with Chey? Will Varkanin get his revenge and the oil company – its drilling towers? As usual there will be no easy solutions and no easy answers.

What I liked:

It was a gutsy story – as beautiful but also as cruel as the Arctic itself. There are a lot of deaths at the end, some of them very painful although still logical. I truly couldn’t have thought of a better end; I also couldn’t have written anything more depressing. If Powell and Chey were handed a HEA (happily ever after), so a little prairie house and one evening at the bowling alley a week as they planned at one point, I would threw this book away; on the other hand the way the book (and the series) ends, made me rather sad. Love does conquer all, even lycanthropy, but sometimes the price is high indeed, so high that you wonder whether it was worth it…ok, before I get maudlin let me progress with the rest of likes.

I liked the mythological spirit of muskrat (Dzo), accompanied by that of a polar bear and a dire wolf better this time. Their role in the book was more precisely outlined, more important and far more understandable than in the first installment. I also liked how the character of Varkanin was presented – a former specnaz soldier, a cruel hunter but also a deeply-wounded individual who lived just for his revenge. Creepy but so very true. Similar things can be said about Lucie - she is very pretty, very sweet sadist who also, once upon a time, was hurt and wasn't given any choice but to follow her fate. You feel sorry for her for 1/3 of the story and you hate her for the rest.

What I didn’t like:

It is not really a flaw because this book was very good; However, it made me very sad. I think you should be warned – don’t read it when you have a spell of autumn blues (or any other kind of blues). The ending will hardly put you in a better mood. Of course it was all good, logical and understandable but still...prepare a lot of chocolate and maybe even a highball.

Final verdict:


A very good, intelligent but definitely a very adult fantasy series with some violence and no easy issues. I recommend it but I am also aware that it might be not a pair of novels for everyone. If you crave for something to cheer you up and make you all warm and happy you might actually want to steer clear of it.

Review: Frostbite: A Werewolf Tale by David Wellington

Book info:

Book form: e-book mobi format

Genre: paranormal fiction, dystopia

Target audience: adults

I stumbled upon this book (but with slightly different title - Cursed) on Mel’sRandom Reviews blog, featured as her Throwback Thursday meme which proves that when you want to find new good books it’s worth visiting around. Thanks Mel!

Synopsis:

A young woman, Cheyenne Clark, is heli-hiking in an underpopulated area of the northern part of Canada, apparently looking for some traces of a strange animal. Although she is well prepared for such rough conditions still she gets lost, falls into a river and almost drowns. Half alive, with most of her possessions either destroyed or gone, she tries to find a shelter, not an easy thing in the Canadian wilderness. When the night falls the animal she was tracking finds her. And scratches her leg with its fangs.

From that point the life of Cheyenne changes dramatically – yes, she becomes a werewolf herself, no surprises here taking into account the title. Now she must face not only the werewolf who turned her against her will into a monster (well, he hasn’t planned that much either) and now wants to kill her for her own good but also her associates who hadn’t taken such a turn of events into account. Or perhaps they had. Anyway they are as dangerous to her as to her prey now, having some silver bullets at their disposal and a lot of experience under their belt...

What side will her boyfriend take – a man who has been actively hunting a werewolf half his life? What will Cheyenne do with her little furry problem- will she be able to accept her new, very limited life? Or maybe a silver bullet in the head will seem a far nicer solution?

What I liked:

Although I managed to cram the whole story into a very short synopsis it doesn’t mean that the book is short or simplistic. Quite the opposite in fact. And I enjoyed it immensely.

First of all the narration is full of surprises. Werewolf’s life was made a tad more difficult than usually in PNR books– here such a creature must change into a monster whenever the Moon rises, no matter what phase, so practically most of the nights. The characters’ stories are also a bit more complicated – no easy falling in love, plenty of problems, no slick solutions. As soon as you think you know everything there is to be known about the trio of main heroes: Cheyenne, her boyfriend, Bobby Fenech, and Montgomery Powell, the werewolf who turned Chey into a monster, the author adds some more info making you scratch your head and wonder. I did like it very much – scratching, thinking and reading :-).

The characters are well-rounded indeed and their actions – always psychologically viable and fully justified...of course when you get the whole picture. So no sooner than by the end of the book. I really sympathized with Cheyenne and Powell (but for different reasons) and even enjoyed a more rough, cruel and blood-dripping image of a werewolf. If you are (like yours truly) dead tired and bored stiff with those fluffy, pinky, cloying romances featuring unvaryingly handsome and well-muscled guys who just happen to have a bit more beast inside than an average human being but otherwise are simply loving and cuddly try this one. I am sure you will find it refreshingly scary.

I also liked the ending but I must mention there is a lot of violence in this one. Although the scenes are not overly graphic, they do sound real enough to make you cringe. It has a point, though, a very good point, showing that a monster is as monster does. Add to it some political background (like the real reason why the Canadian government were so interested in seeing all werewolves dead) and you get a surprisingly intricate and original story. One you would like to continue (yes, it is a series as far as I know).


Finally the cover - I find it very appropriate. Simple and scary.

What I didn’t like:

There was just one minor detail – I really couldn't figure out what the role of Dzo was. If you haven't read the book - Dzo is a magical entity, a musquash/muskrat spirit, looking like any human male (with some quirks but who doesn't have them, after all) but  being anything but human. First difference - he can hang out with shape-shifters without being considered by them a prey, even when they change their form. He follows Powell and helps him from time to time but we are not told why or to what end. Just because both are lonely? Secondly Dzo claims he has been living for not mere years or centuries but rather millenia - allegedly he saw Neandertals (yes, the author apparently believes in evolution) and Paleo-Indians, inhabiting Canada. Thirdly he is a vegetarian...but actually I am  surprised he has to eat anything. He also can appear and disappear at will, having strong affiliation with running water. Perhaps after reading the second installment this character will be made clearer to me.


Final verdict:

Definitely a kind of paranormal story I like and appreciate: honest, perhaps a bit closer to some classic fairy tales about werewolves ( I really sometimes saw Chey as the Little Red Ridding Hood of a kind) but also gritty and real. I am really looking forward to the second part, entitled Overwinter!

Review: Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Image via Wikipedia

Paperback: 311 pages
Publisher: Anchor; 1st Anchor Books edition (March 16, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 038549081X
ISBN-13: 978-0385490818
Target group: adults
Genre: dystopia



Synopsis:

Welcome to the near future. Protestant fundamentalists have taken over the US government and created the Republic of Gilead. The new Republic faces many problems but the most keenly felt issue concerns reproduction. Pollution and nuclear accidents have left many people sterile so men and women who can still conceive are the utter luxury. Eventually, the government declare all second marriages invalid and all fertile wives of these marriages are subject to deportation or to service as Handmaids. Handmaids are forced to couple (you can’t call that sex) once a month with aristocratic men with the aim of continuing the race and to give birth to as many children as possible. If they don’t conceive with their first “Commander” they change houses getting two other chances and then they are deported to Colonies where life is hard, environment polluted and nobody survives long. By the way women are no longer allowed to work, study, read or write. They must wear horrible uniform-like dresses, and cover their heads with veils.

Offred (not her real name – “of Fred”?), the narrator of this story, chooses to become a Handmaid. After a period of training at the “Red Center”, she is assigned to a series of households. She ends in the house of a high-ranking Commander, Fred. It is her last chance as it is her third man, she is already 31 and hasn’t conceived again since becoming a Handmaid. She can’t forget her former life, wondering whether her mother, husband and daughter are still alive. She misses many luxuries like nail polish, cigarettes, jeans, high heels, coffee. Now her world revolves around a number of different women, separated into distinct societal roles: Marthas (household workers), Wives (the mistresses), and Aunts (kind of morality guards cum teachers).

Once every month the Commander couples with Offred as his infertile wife sits behind her, holding her hands. Offred doesn’t have the slightest idea that the Commander cares about her situation. However, within a few months he invites her secretly in the middle of the night to his study, an offense punishable by death. They play Scrabble and the Commander brings Offred old books and magazines to read, another capital offense. Then he gives her even more valuable presents - a hand lotion and an old lipstick. Eventually he even takes her to an underground nightclub/brothel where officials can indulge their sinful whims and treat women as sexual beings. Meanwhile Offred, risking her life, learns a little about the resistance from another Handmaid of her acquaintance, Ofglen. The matters complicate when Commander's wife, Serena Joy, comes to the conclusion that her husband is probably sterile. Serena Joy wants a child so badly that she bribes Offred to have sex with her husband’s chauffeur Nick. It is a real affair for poor Offred and she becomes so caught up that she stops gleaning information from Fred for the resistance as she visits Nick definitely more often than she should.

Will Offred prove her worth to her superiors by becoming pregnant? Is there any other way out of her predicament? Will her tale, recorded on cassette tapes, change anything?

What I liked:

It was a feminist and very adult take on dystopia - an interesting and even momentarily entertaining read, although a bit scary. Despite the fact that we deal with a book from the early 1980's (Ronald Reagan was US President then!) it remains momentarily a very persuading vision. I must admit it is written very well – when you start it you must finish, no matter what. Fortunately it is not very long either.

The characters are well-rendered and original, especially Offred and other women she cooperates with. I started to feel for them very early on and then I just choked with anger reading about their lives and daily humiliation. I suppose only a woman author could know how to move you this way.

What I didn’t like:

To tell you the truth there were too many disturbing moments in this book – it is certainly not a light read. Apart from that the whole dystopian world was so horrible that it seemed overall just improbable after a while. I couldn’t believe there were not enough confident and capable women left – women who would oppose the fundamentalists earlier on and in a more decisive manner. Women usually are in the majority so how come they became so subdued? After all for several millennia there have been more female births than male births and men tend to have shorter life spans than women (wars, diseases, accidents, speeding, alcohol – you name it). Even the religion factor didn’t explain it sufficiently well (how come all these ladies were so religious all of a sudden?).

To sum up this novel seems today a bit dated (but believe me, you will be grateful for that) and misguided. It didn't age well.

Final verdict:

I changed this section three times - I am more conflicted than ever. It was an interesting read but I am not madly in love with it. However, I've always been a bit afraid of reading Atwood novels because of her disturbing, dark visions of the future. Perhaps after some time I will be tempted to try her other books but right now I am not sure.
 I other words I am STILL scared. Call me chicken.

Review: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

· Hardcover: 304 pages
· Publisher: Knopf (April 5, 2005)
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 1400043395
· ISBN-13: 978-1400043392
· Genre: sici-fi, dystopia
· Target group: adult

Synopsis (with some spoilers):


Never Let Me Go is the third book of Kazuo Ishiguro dealing with sci-fi subjects. The storyline is highly reminiscent of the thriller movie "The Island" – small wonder a new movie, based on it and starring Keira Knightley, has been shot recently.

The novel is narrated by Kathy H., a thirty-one year old carer, who reminds herself of her school years at Hailsham, spent with her best friends, Ruth and Tommy. She tells us that she recently came back into contact with Ruth, as she became Ruth’s carer after her first donation. We are bound to find the true meaning of this later.

At the beginning Hailsham seems a normal establishment. It is situated amid quiet countryside and its staff consist of caring, good guardians. Soon we find out that the students never go home and are not visited by anyone from the outside world. Then come other puzzles. Why does the Hailsham syllabus place so intense an emphasis on "creativity" of the students? Why does mysterious ‘Madame’ pick up and take away the best art? Where is situated her equally mysterious ‘gallery’? Aren’t weekly medical checks a bit too frequent ? Can it be true that the authorities are so worried about the dangers of smoking that works such as the Sherlock Holmes stories are banned from the library because of their high nicotine content? Why did one of the best teachers, the honest and open Miss Lucy, leave the school rather abruptly?

In their last years at Hailsham, the students are given classes on what was to be expected out in the real world, with special emphasis on sex and social skills. Here the truth about them slowly become clearer. It seems that everyone somehow knew it already BUT they never realized what it really meant. Kathy, Ruth and Tommy leave Hailsham and go to the Cottages where they reside under the watchful eye of an elderly man called Keffers until they are ready to start their training as carers. After that they will become donors. The relationship between the three of them becomes somewhat like a love triangle. Ruth and Tommy are dating openly but deep down Ruth knows that Kathy and Tommy would be more compatible. The friendship between both girls, while superficially tight knit, is in fact rather strained and quite toxic. Ruth is a bossy ‘know-it-all’ type who likes manipulating the others. The trio disintegrate after one explosive afternoon and Kathy doesn’t see Ruth and Tommy again until she becomes Ruth’s carer.

OK, NOW COMES A MAJOR SPOILER SECTION – DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU MIND.

The Hailsham students don’t have any families because they are, in fact, clones of other people (called possibles). They can’t have children either. They were designed to be walking and living organ farms and that was the sole purpose of their rather short existence. Once they end their carers’ career and are called up to start donating, they don’t stop until they ‘complete’. In other words, they donate their organs until there is nothing left or their body can no longer sustain the operations. Those that survive to their fourth donation are treated like heroes. They've heard on the grapevine that love - or art, or both - will get you a deferral but nobody really knows any details of such a deal and whether it is true. The likes of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy frighten the rest of normal people. Many believe they have no souls and are simply empty beings. Is it really true?

What I liked:

The plot, while not exactly original, was captivating. Ishiguro's careful, understated narration focuses on the way young people can make a life out of whatever is on offer. The foreground of the novel is kept busily occupied with the interactions of Kathy with her best friend Ruth and Tommy, the boy both are attracted to. Here Ishiguro sets a cat's cradle of psychological and emotional tensions which were fascinating - he is the best at it.

 Another out-of-the-ordinary feature of this novel is the way the author deals with questions about humanity and humaneness – very difficult questions I must add. I was really fascinated and struck by the whole ethical concept of organ donation, what Kathy, Ruth and Tommy were and how they were treated by ‘normal’ human beings.

What I didn’t like:

Don’t get me wrong - Never Let Me Go is a very unique read and raises many relevant questions. Still, plenty of incredibly fascinating stuff the author left somehow untouched and I really don’t understand why. There is undoubtedly much to say about the ethics of cloning humans for the sole purpose of organ harvesting after all...

I wonder, for instance, why we were never told how all these cloning procedures were invented, organized and performed. Who was exactly chosen as a ‘possible’ (so the model for a clone) and for what reasons? There appears to be no relationship whatsoever between a clone and his/her "original" model - isn't it rather strange? We are also not told who was responsible for the whole cloning programme- I mean who financed and supervised it. By the way who can afford this kind of medicine in a society the author depicts as no richer, indeed perhaps less rich, than ours? Finally my main problem – why couldn’t the clones, at least some of them, those the smartest or the most adventurous ones (or both), just leave, go away or even go abroad, try to blend in among normal people and avoid their sad fate? What exactly stopped them from leaving? After all the instinct for self preservation, the thirst for knowledge and the curiosity define the human race.The author took a lot of effort to present clones as human beings. As a result, though, his attention remains fixed on intimate things - the small social groupings within a school, the nuances of personal relationships – but the larger world remains a distant, blurred backdrop, and is brought slightly more into focus only at the end. A very depressing end. It's about knowing that while you must keep calm, keeping calm won't change a thing.

Ishiguro's refusal to address questions such as these forces, in my opinion, his story into a pure literary limbo - the book is perhaps intelligent and well-written but still really neither here nor there.

I am also not particularly smitten with the cover...but it is easier to change than the content.

Final verdict

It is an interesting but rather depressing novel - showing the steady erosion of hope.  To tell you the truth I felt physically tired after finishing it. If you asked me whether or not I would like to read it again my answer would be a firm “no”. I would rather watch “The Island” for the second time. Call me a shallow being with no intelligence to speak of.