Kathy H., now in her early thirties and working as a carer, recalls growing up at Hailsham, an apparently idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. The students are encouraged to make art and poetry, guarded closely by their teachers, called guardians, and told very little about the outside world or why they are there.
Her memories centre on two friends: Ruth, bossy and eager to belong, and Tommy, a boy prone to rages who struggles with art. The three form a lasting triangle of affection and rivalry that carries on after they leave Hailsham for a run-down farm called the Cottages, and as adults they piece together the truth about their own purpose.
Ishiguro reveals his premise gradually, through Kathy's calm, matter-of-fact narration, which makes the book's speculative element more unsettling rather than less. It is less a story about science than about how people accept the lives they are given, and about memory, love and mortality. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and adapted into a 2010 film.
Book details
| Author | Kazuo Ishiguro |
|---|---|
| First published | 2005 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Literary fiction |
| Type | Fiction |
| Pages (approx.) | 288 |
| Setting | Hailsham boarding school and rural England, late 20th century |
Themes
- Mortality
- Friendship
- Acceptance
- Memory
- What makes us human
Who should read it
Readers who like quietly devastating literary fiction with a speculative edge.