Synopsis (Credit: www.amazon.co.uk)

In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewered version of contemporary England. Narrated by Kathy, now 31, Never Let Me Go hauntingly dramatises her attempts to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School, and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world.

A story of love, friendship and memory, Never Let Me Go is charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of life.

Shortlist: Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2005.
Shortlist: National Book Critics Circle Awards: Fiction 2005.
On the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die List.

(Bought second-hand at Help the Rural Child Charity Bookshop, Main Road, Sea Point.)

When I found an audiobook version of this book in the library, I grabbed the opportunity despite having the book on my bookshelf. The advantage is that I could listen to it while commuting, thereby gaining bonus 'reading' time.

The author succeeds in creating an atmosphere that is largely convincing. Some pertinent questions are asked and he certainly gets the reader thinking.

At times the minutiae got a bit much. Every half-smile gets analysed and silence pondered. At the risk of sounding as if I'm ridiculing a serious and necessary aspect of the book — which is not the intention — I'll admit that it reminded me more than once of a quote from Alexander Solzhenitsyn's The First Circle: "Do you know why horses live so long? Because they never try and analyse their relationships."

To be released as part of the BCct group wild release at The Fisherman's Choice at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

If you are new to BookCrossing and found this book, welcome! Enjoy the site, the book, and the BookCrossing community.

BookCrossing has not taken off in a big way in South Africa yet, but there are a number of dedicated BookCrossers across the country who are actively involved to grow the concept. A discussion group for BookCrossers in the wider Cape Town area, BCct, was set up to make it easier to arrange meetups or to spread local news. If you are a BookCrosser from this part of the world or planning a visit, pease feel free to join. Visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bcct for more information.

Whether you decide to join or not, please make a journal entry — now, and again when you decide to release the book to continue its journey.



Edited to add: This book was not one of
those picked up as part of the group release, so afterwards I walked around with it,
looking for a possible Plan B release spot.

Round the corner I saw one of these new foldable bikes that are getting very popular in Cape Town. It was locked to a sign advertising a book sale. I do not normally do wild releases in a direct or intrusive manner, but my thinking was: a cyclist and (perhaps) book lover won't mind, so I placed the book in the bike's handlebar basket.

Bonus: about 30 or 40 minutes later I was on my way out when I saw a woman pedalling towards Mouille Point along Beach Road. I'm pretty certain I spotted the book amongst some other stuff in her basket. :)