Never Let Me Go.

NEVER LET ME GO. Kazuo Ishiguro. 2005. Read by Rosalyn Landor. 8 cds. 11 hrs. Books on Tape. 1-4159-1629-2. $57.60. Vinyl; plot notes. SA

Children growing up in Hailsham School in the late 20th century seem to live the privileged existence of British children at boarding school, but gradually the listener becomes aware of unusual aspects of their lives. The children have no families and spend no time outside the school grounds; they develop close relationships with the other children and with their "guardians." As the children get older, they are given clues to their past and an idea of what their future will hold, which includes sex but not families. The main character Kathy tells the story through the relationship of three friends: herself, Tommy and Ruth, as children, adolescents and adults. Ruth had always been the leader and not until she dies do Tommy and Kathy get to unravel the truths and untruths of their childhood. This novel is a mixture of a British mystery and SF. Ishiguro describes a world that seems realistic down to the simplest detail, so the listener accepts the horror of the premise. Landor reads the book in a cultured, matter-of-fact voice that expresses no shock at the conditions of this world. Nola Theiss, Sanibel, FL