Magic is when you’re reading one thing, but something much deeper is going into your head.
Reading Kazuo Ishiguro’s NEVER LET ME GO, I was first caught up in the story details, the intimate memories of the main character, Kathy, and the vivid pictures Kathy paints of her childhood, her friends, her teachers - and the mystery that surrounds them all.
As the story moves along, I find I’m unable to put the book down, even though Kathy is still describing her life’s memories. There’s something about Ishiguro that makes her memories become something more. (I can’t give details because of a spoiler situation.)
I can say that Kathy is a true innocent. And when she tells us of her life, we can only see the more global picture later on, as the picture widens. The profound implications of Kathy’s life don’t hit us right away. And because we see the world through her innocence, the final, nightmarish impact is even more shocking.
This was my first Kazuo Ishiguro book, and now I intend to read them all!
The first 30 pages or so of The Remains of the Day were a bit slow and felt like a guide to being a butler. Once I realized what the book was doing it was fantastic. One of the best books I ever read.
I think I had the same initial reaction. Honestly don’t remember why I kept reading, as I kept asking myself why this book was so critically acclaimed. Who wants to read the recollections of a butler on a leisurely drive through the countryside?
Then, like you said, it sort of clicks and I was just pulled into the story. It was gradual subtle thing, much like Ishiguro’s subtle restrained writing style that tries not to call attention to itself, much like how the butler is trying to restrain himself and always stay calm and measured. By the end, however, I was flipping pages like an action-thriller, reading non-stop wondering what would happen next. This happened to me with some Jane Austen novels too.