Never Let Me Go background

iKazuo Ishiguro’s fifthnovel,Never Let Me Go(2005), might be set in an alternative reality of the late 1990s in England and focus on fictional characters like Kathy, but the foundations are set in our very real universe. What are these contexts and how do the questions that Ishiguro raises about cloning still resonate today?

Never Let Me Go: analysis

Kazuo Ishiguro’snovelis influenced by a variety of contexts that span history, literature, the socio-political climate at the time as well as Ishiguro’s own life.

Never Let Me Go: biographical context

Despite being born in Japan,Kazuo Ishigurolived much of his life in rural parts of England (Guildford, Surrey), giving him an intimate knowledge of the British countryside whereNever Let Me Gois predominantly set. When Ishiguro moved toLondon, he began a job as a social worker in a homeless shelter. This job gave him a deep insight into the sort of role that his character Kathy and the other clones adopt as ‘carers’.

Ishiguro started writingNever Let Me Gowith a completely different idea about singers in 1950s America trying to find their fame. However, he became more and more stagnated as he attempted to start the novel several times.

The author then changed the focus to a group of strange students living in the countryside. He wanted them to appear normal, but have a limited perspective of life so that the reader would sympathise with them more. This dramatic change of foundations then evolved into the novel we have today.

Never Let Me Go: literary context, genre and themes

Ishiguro also finds his ability to tell stories stems from a combination of cinema and literature. He admits that even though he is a writer'probably a lot of my ideas about storytelling came from watching movies on television'¹. Thus it is hard to find out what literary influences may have directly inspired him.

It is clear from the sci-fi and dystopian genre thatNever Let Me Gohas been influenced by earlier literature in those genres. Philip K. Dick’snovel,Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep(1968), for example, is simultaneouslyscience fictionand dystopian, but also analyses what it means to be human (a question underpinning Ishiguro’s book).George Orwell’s1984(1949) also explores similar themes.

Yet Ishiguro’s exploration of an alternative past enables thenovel输入一行反事实的historical fiction. Philip K. Dick also explores this in hisThe Man in the High Castle(1962), which offers an alternative- reality what-if question: what if the axis powers had won the Second World War?Despite the fact that Ishiguro has 'never read a Philip K. Dick book'², there are many elements that reoccur in the Japanese author's novel.

Never Let Me Go: historical context and characters

The way in which the clones are also forced to be ‘carers’ for the other clones during their life is reminiscent of events in the Holocaust. The concentration camp’s working unit – called the Sonderkommando – consisted of prisoners who were forced to assist in murdering other prisoners in the gas chambers. The participation in this merely prolongs the inevitable, just as it does for Kathy.

20和21世纪充满了快速scientific development, particularly in genetics, a concept that is foundational to the concept of cloning. The discovery of DNA’s double-helix structure in 1953 initiated a greater interest into molecular biology throughout the rest of the century. This also started funding from the government into the Human Genome Project.

At this time there was also an increased interest in stem cell research from the 1980s onwards, after the discovery that stem cells could be removed from mice. Stem cells regenerated themselves into daughter cells, enabling other specialised cells to be created out of them.

这一步创造了显著的进步medical field, but it has been met with moral debate over the fact that human embryos are used (that hold the potential for life). The combination of stem cell and genetic research also resulted in the first case of the successful cloning, that of Dolly the sheep in 1996.

Fig. 1 - Image of a sheep.

Never Let Me Go: socio-political context

这些scienti的道德困境fic developments brought involved both social and political perspectives. Even before the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, both President Bill Clinton (US) and Prime Minister Tony Blair (UK) offered triumphant speeches on the achievement.

Clinton was more inspired and claimed that genetics is 'the language in which God created life.'³Blair, however, reminded his audience of how this science could be 'abused, to make man his own creator.'³These scientific explorations into genetics even went so far as to clone a human embryo in 2001.

Fears around cloning were also raised in the media (particularly in films). A few months following the release ofNever Let Me Go, Michael Bay releasedThe Island(2005), a film about clones created to be harvested (similarly to those in Ishiguro’s novel). In earlier cinema, Steven Spielberg’sJurassic Park(1993) raises fears about cloning an entirely different species: dinosaurs, from Palaeolithic remains.

Never Let Me Go: contemporary relevance

Despite the fact that the novel is set in a different century, many elements are relevant today, not least man’s attempts to prolong life with science. Additionally, both organ trafficking and transplant tourism exist in contemporary society, exploiting those in need and benefiting those who can afford it.

Commercialism also enables people’s ignorance of suffering beyond their realm of understanding. Just as the people of England in Ishiguro’snovellargely chose to believe that the clones do not have souls despite the evidence, many people today often use unethically sourced products with a history of animal testing, child labour, unfair wages, or poor environmental considerations.

The fast fashion industry's clothing, for example, is often mass-produced in sweatshops with minimal consideration to its workers and to the environmental impact, for the sole purpose of maximising profit. At the same time, society makes these products more economically viable, increasing the chances of companies encouraging people to buy them.

Never Let Me Go: influence on literature

Never Let Me Gois an influentialnovelthat was shortlisted for several prestigious awards like the Booker Prize (2005) and the National Book Critics Circle Award (2005). Thenovelwas also made into an acclaimed film with actors Andrew Garfield, Kiera Knightley, and Carey Mulligan, furthering thenovel’s influence. Ishiguro won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.

Kazuo Ishigurois a favoured writer by many other famous writers such as Ian Rankin andMargaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood, writer ofThe Handmaid’s Tale(1985), particularly admiresNever Let Me Goand describes it as'a brilliantly executed book by a master craftsman who has chosen a difficult subject: ourselves, seen through a glass, darkly.'⁴

1.Kazuo Ishiguro, 'Kazuo Ishigurowebchat- as it happened', 2015.

2. Kazuo Ishiguro, Interview with Wall Street Journal Live, 2015.

3. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, "Announcing the Completion of the First Survey of the Human Genome Project”, 2000.

4.Margaret Atwood: “My Favourite Ishiguro: by Margaret Atwood, Ian Rankin and More”, 2021.

5. Adam Mars-Jones, “The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro: TheLondonReview of Books”, 2015.