Never Let Me Go Short Summary

By Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go is a science fiction novel that has been set in a dystopian world. It was published in 2005. It is set in a different form of England during the 1990s. The novel touches on themes such as free will, conformity, and humanity in general.

A Quick Reading of the Synopsis

The book begins by introducing Kathy. H, the narrator, who is 31 years old and working as a Carer. She has much time from her job to reflect on her life growing up and also connecting with her friends Tommy and Ruth.

She lived in Hailsham growing up. In Hailsham, students got to work on art and then present it to Madame in the hope that she will add them to her gallery. Tommy was not creative growing up, and this made him become an outcast. However, he and Kathy had a special connection that helped him through his tough life moments.

Ruth and Kathy, on the other hands, have a rocky relationship. In Hailsham, Kathy used to listen to a song called Never Let Me Go in her dorm. She is caught doing this by Madame, and her tape is taken away.

When they were teenagers, the three thought a lot about their futures. Their guardian Miss Lucy discourages their dreams. Ruth and Tommy begin dating some time later. After their life in Hailsham, the three were taken to the cottages. Here they have much fun together in terms of road trips and watching TV. One of their trips they go to a place called Norfolk. This is where we discover that they are clones.

They spend some time in Norfolk and Kathy gets to find an identical cassette to the one she lost to Madame. Ruth and Kathy get into an argument, and Kathy decides to leave the Cottages. She goes out to work as a Carer.

Years later, Ruth comes in to donate, and Kathy is her Carer. The two get to talking, and they become friends again. They take a trip with Tommy included exploring a boat. Ruth confesses that she had tried to keep the two apart. Ruth makes up for it by giving them Madame’s number. They tried to get a deferral so Tommy could get more time with them before donating more essential organs.

Ruth ‘completes’ which means she had served her time as a donor. Tommy and Kathy start a relationship. They soon come to realize that they had a fixed fate, to grow up, work as a carer and then donate, and complete. They say goodbye to each other, and Tommy completes. The novel ends with Kathy getting her summons to become a donor.