Never Let Me Go: Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel does not fall in any category. Neither is it magical realism nor is it science fiction. It is perhaps a combination of the two, for the situation and possibility that Ishiguro conjures up is hauntingly possible. Is it then an attempt to reconcile the moral side of man with his technical side? At one level it is, and yet at another, it is also an indication of the current state of affairs, the conflict between the possible and the morally allowable.

All writers are essentially writing about the morals of their times, and Ishiguro is no exception. When writing about the morals of an age the writer must fill chiefly two conditions, firstly, he must be subtle and yet secondly, and no less importantly, he must also manage to convey aptly, the concern he wants the society to address. On that scale it must be admitted, that this work falls short of the standards that Ishiguro had set for himself in ‘The Remains of the day’. The conscious reader is able to guess, after the first few chapters itself, the theme that Ishiguro is trying to build further in the novel, that however is not the difference between this work of his and ‘The Remains of the day’.

There is something lacking in the gradual progression of the theme to its eventual climax, which is there in ‘The Remains of the day’. There is no chapter of showdown in Ishiguro’s earlier booker winning effort as it is here, in this novel. One can not understand why the main protagonists have to be told in such emotional terms, of their eventual fate. It is something that is already conveyed numerous times through Ishiguro’s imagined description of the life they lead. When an author is at the height of his craft, there always is a nagging worry in his mind, will my readers be able to grasp what I am trying to portray exactly as I want it to be done? Perhaps it is this nagging worry that leads Ishiguro to include that chapter of showdown, where the protagonists are told by their guardians in rather emotional terms, their fate, irrevocable and absolute as it is. This underestimation of readers is a trait that is both dangerous and wholly unnecessary. There are few other authors in world literature who can match Ishiguro’s subtle build up and undercurrents. The whole novel would loose nothing, and in fact gain much if that particular chapter is omitted. This however can be over looked, for I believe that Mr. Ishiguro has reached that level of the consciousness of his responsibility as an artist, and an artist’s true responsibility is the ceaseless removal of all that is nefarious and lacking in the age that he lives in, at which he gets over zealous and tries too hard to drive home his point, failing to realize that his own play of words in the rest of his work has already achieved his purpose. That, however is a sin born out of altruism on the part of a mature artist and there is nothing sinister or self-flattering about it. This I believe is the main difference between this work and his booker award winning effort.

In an imagined piece of work such as this, there is not much that can be subjected to criticism from a realist point of view. Formally, of course Ishiguro is as brilliant as he can ever hope to be except for the slip he makes, which has been pointed out earlier. Ishiguro has always been a strong naturalist and indeed from that perspective there is not much lacking in this novel, given its scope. Indeed, it must be said that Ishiguro succeeds most as a naturalist in this novel. The whole central idea of this novel is so possible that the present day reader can expect Ishiguro’s vision to be realized in the course of this life time. One only hopes that things would not be dark as Ishiguro paints them out to be on his imaginary canvass, if for nothing else then for the sake of the efforts of the author.

Mr. Ishiguro is now in the best years of his life as an artist and it is hard to imagine someone else in Britain and maybe perhaps even the rest of the world, who could have produced a work on such a theme. This work reveals the restless soul of an artist who is bewildered, amazed and at the same time scared at the ever growing technological capabilities of the human race. Coming as it does from an artist like Mr. Ishiguro, it does raise a myriad of questions, questions that are tough to answer, but which need the most serious of introspections. Where will all this progress take us? Will it really make our lives easier and if so, then at what costs? Is the ultimate aim of life merely this, to make it easier and dominate over nature so much that we change the laws of nature itself? Is this desirable? Ishiguro forces the reader to address these pertinent, philosophical and practical questions.

(I will be most interested about the reactions of other readers, please mail me at Sukirti.sen@gmail.com )