Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This novel is not on the list, but it deserves to be, without a doubt. 

Never Let Me Go is a quiet, contemplative novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is not fast-paced nor plot-driven, but it has a way of creeping under your skin and staying with you.

Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan in 1954 and moved to Britain at a young age. Even though he lived in England, the experience of starting his life in a city that had been affected by an atomic bomb seems to have carried over into his writing. I saw Mr. Ishiguro speak several weeks ago while he was promoting his new book, The Buried Giant. During that talk, he mentioned that up until the age of eight, he believed that every city had had a bomb dropped  on them. From an early age, he was affected by this before-and-after mentality and the idea of mortality it brought with it.

I can’t state an informed opinion about his other novels, but this certainly seems to have seeped into the themes of Never Let Me Go. The novel is set in an alternate Britain and is told from the point of view of Kathy H. Kathy talks to the reader as if they are an old friend and opens up about her childhood, adolescence, and the process of maturing into adulthood. Kathy is the one who sets the insightful and contemplative tone for the novel. [LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD] But this novel is not just a bildungsroman. Kathy, and all of the other students she grows up with at Hailsham Home, are clones that were created for the purpose of harvesting their organs for donations. I call this a light spoiler because it is not an epic plot twist. Just like it is part of the clone’s life, it is woven seamlessly into the narrative.

The entire novel is told in a deeply personal matter from Kathy’s perspective. From the beginning, Kathy is established as quiet and observant. This lends credibility to her as a reliable narrator. Throughout the novel, there are many times when Kathy can magically tell what someone else is thinking just by their expression or a feeling. But we trust those moments and we trust Kathy as our guide through this strange, yet familiar, reality.

While the novel is truly a  journey, it is in the final few chapters that we get some outside perspective on this world. Kathy and another ex-student, Tommy, go to visit their old headmistress and her friend. There, they discover the political reality of the outside world that they were so sheltered from. They find out that the only reason they were allowed a humane life was because these ladies fought for their basic human rights. They had to prove that the clones were people with souls to even receive funding.

This novel is a beautiful process and journey for the reader. It is worth every moment. The novel is “slow reading”, but you don’t mind because the prose is magnificient and Kathy’s head is a great place to settle into. By the end of the novel, you will be left contemplating your own morality, compassion, and how strong your desire to stay on this Earth is. You will wonder what it really means to be human and what the universal truths of our humanity really are.

The Time Traveler's Wife

While I liked this novel, I'm not sure why it made this list. My guess is that it was a bestseller when the list was created. If this list was updated today, it would probably be replaced with Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin or Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Regardless, it is on the list and I enjoyed it. I'm glad that I read this book in late college. If I had read it in an earlier time in my life, I don't think I would have cared about the characters or plot as much. What interested me the most about the themes of this novel was the battle between Fate and Free will that enters discussion whenever time travel is mentioned.

This book tells the story of two lovers, Henry and Clare. Clare in "normal" but Henry is a time traveller. The majority of the argument between Fate and Free will is expressed through Henry and Clare. Clare just sees the time travelling from her point of view. Therefore, she believes that everything is Fate. She believes that because Henry has already seen things in the future, they are not subject to change.

For the most part, Henry agrees with her. The majority of his character growth comes from the resolution of his fight against Fate. When he is younger, he constantly tries to change the outcome of certain events. But as he gets older, he realizes that he is just an observer in the past because it has already happened. He tells himself, "I was just talking about that with a self from 1992... he thinks that there is only free will when you are in time, in the present. He says in the past we can only do what we did, and we can only be there if we were there". But as he gets older, he realizes that he has to treat life as if he has Free will every moment. That's when you get to choose and you are conscious of the consequences of your actions.

Overall, I liked this book. It is beautifully written and it is interesting to see their love develop from two perspectives and two timelines. But the characters are a little vanilla and bland. Henry and Clare have just enough complexity to move the story along occasionally and not a whit more. I might reread this book one day, but it won't be for several years.

Finishing Harry Potter, Part 2

Deathly Hallows:

This is by far the most literary novel of the series. It contains its own story, but it also connects back into the entire series, specifically Sorcerer's Stone. Everything that Harry learned before and because the events of "Through the Trapdoor" is useful to him in this book and the journeys are parallel to one another.

Just like it takes the combined efforts of Harry, Ron, and Hermione to reach the stone, it takes the combined effort of all three to find and destroy the Horcruxes. Harry destroys the diary in the second book and sacrifices himself, Ron destroys the locket, and Hermione the cup. Their individual journeys also demonstrate their maturity by the end of the series.

I believe that Hermione changes the least over the course of the series. But she demonstrates the importance of "friendship and bravery" during her time searching for and defeating the Horcruxes. She finally finds the balance between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw qualities in her personality and that allows her to be instrumental on the Golden Trio's journey.

I think Ron and Harry have equally trying journeys through the series. Ron overcomes his insecurities enough to defeat the piece of Voldemort's soul that is influencing him. To me, the part of the series when Ron leaves Harry and Hermione is one of the most heart-wrenching. Ron chooses to give into his insecurities and they hold him back from maturing into a man. But, he chooses to come back and stand by his friends. Out of the trio, Ron is giving up the most by going on the journey. He chooses to leave his family, one of the most important aspects of his life. Even at school, it is apparent that the Weasley clan is tight-knit and values loyalty above all. For Ron to go off and leave the safety of his family is a terrific sacrifice. He does it not only once, but three times. He chooses to follow Harry into the breech and saves his life multiple times. Ron finally reaching the turning point into maturity when he metaphorically and literally defeats his demons.

Finally, Harry's journey. He begins the book by losing Hedwig, the symbol of his childhood, his constant link to the magical world, and his comfort during the long summers. As the book continues, he loses many others around him that bring him strength and comfort. By the end of the book, he is left to commit his sacrifice on his own. I believe that Harry's turning point into maturity comes when he buries Dobby and makes the conscious choice to pursue the Horcruxes instead of Hallows. Harry could have taken the easy way out- the way that Dumbledore chose in his youth. Instead, he chooses to wait. If we think back to who Harry was as a character leading up to this point, he was rash and impulsive. In Sorcerer's Stone, he wants to chase and defeat Snape/Voldemort on his own. He is constantly charging into battle without a second thought. But as he buries Dobby, he does the hardest thing for a commander who has just lost a soldier and a friend- he chooses to wait. He makes a well-reasoned decision for the good of many, instead of the rash decision that will only lead to more heartache and will not help the cause. Harry finally grows into the man that Dumbledore wants him to be.

While all three of the Golden Trio defeat their demons in different ways, it is their choices that lead them to victory. Their combined efforts as a team and their constant trust in one another and what allow them to succeed throughout the series, from capturing the Sorcerer's Stone to destroying the Horcruxes.

Obviously, I could go on and on about the complexities of this book and this series. I wrote my senior thesis about the duality of Harry and Draco and of Harry and Voldemort. I also connect this duality into Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities and the Bible. One day I might turn all of this analysis and rambling into a book. But for now, I just enjoy thinking critically about a series that shaped my life and my generation.

Finishing Harry Potter

It's completely ridiculous that I haven't finished talking about Harry Potter and I'm currently bored subbing in an Aquatic Science class.

Half-Blood Prince:

This book is probably my favorite of the series. I loved learning about the complexities and history of Tom Riddle. Also, Harry is angsty and suspicious of Snape and Draco, Ron and Hermione's sexual tension hits new highs, and the book begins with an interesting peak into the effects this Wizarding War has on the Muggle world. All of these elements combine to create a story with a multitude of facets that any person can enjoy. There's mystery, romance, history, teenage hormones everywhere, and character development beyond what we've seen before. This book is a little bit trashy and a little bit literary, just like Harry (or any other 16 year-old).

One of my favorite elements of this novel is the focus on Draco Malfoy. We see the journey he's traveled since his childhood. He's gone from a spoiled child to a young man who has pressure from not only his family, but the Dark Lord, on his shoulders. He is trying to do what he thinks is right: serve Lord Voldemort. He was raised by people who partake in these separatist views and now he is trying to make them proud with his work and service. He finally is feeling a man's burden. Even though his goals are not noble, it is easy for the reader to understand Draco's motivation.

This book helps establish Draco as a foil to Harry. While the two boys have opposing views and fight frequently, they are both just trying to do right by their parents and mentors. Harry is trying to avenge his parents and honor their memories. He is also trying to follow Dumbledore and his ideals. In this novel, he tells Scrimgeour that he is "Dumbledore's man, through and through". Harry and Fawkes the phoenix have a special relationship because of Harry's loyalty to Dumbledore. Draco is also trying to do right by his parents. He is willing to commit murder for him. The difference is that he does not fully commit himself to Voldemort's cause. He doesn't consider murder because he wants Voldemort to be proud of him. He wants to protect his parents from Voldemort. He was chosen for the task of murdering Dumbledore as a punishment for his father's mistakes. The two boys are foils to one another and are two sides of the same coin.

Pride and Prejudice

I've had quite a while (two years) to ruminate on this novel. While the phrasing of the prose might not be fresh, the lessons about love and marriage still are.

The novel begins with the infamous line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" (2). The amount of snark and sarcasm that Jane Austen manages to imbue in that line is legendary. But Austen has a base of truth in this statement. In Nineteenth-century England,  a man, especially a wealthy one, was supposed to marry a woman of good virtue and character (and preferably a decent sized dowry) and produce heirs to continue on the family name and fortune. Getting married was not only the next step in a young person's life, it was their duty. Therefore, not all marriages were the best matches. Many were made for financial reasons, while others were marriages of passion. But with the successful couples in the novel, Austen argues that good marriages are based in mutual respect and grow stronger with time.

One of the first marriages we see in the novel is not a particuarlly successful one. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett married when they were young because Mr. Bennet fell for Mrs. Bennet's beauty. The novel states, "Her [Elizabeth's] father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour with youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her. Respect, esteem, and confidence had vanished for ever; and all his views of domestic happiness were overthrown". This is an example of an unequal marriage. Mrs. Bennet is trite while Mr. Bennet is contemplative. They raise five daughters, only two of which make successful matches during the book, and this is mostly due to their own initiative and intelligence.

Lydia was not one of the daughters that made a good match. She elopes with George Wickham. Originally, they just run away together. But, Darcy finds them and forces Wickham to make an honest woman out of her. Lydia is fated to have the same type of marriage that her parents had, a loveless one based on initial attraction. While Wickham is not quiet like Mr. Bennet, his pairing with Lydia is not based in mutual love and respect. Lydia just wanted to get married for the sake of getting married. Elizabeth characterizes her as "untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless". Granted, Lydia is fifteen at the start of the novel and refuses to follow anyone's example except her mother's. But, that does not excuse her rash behavior and that Darcy cleans up the mess she makes for the entire Bennet family.


While Lydia follows the example of her mother, Jane tries to follow Elizabeth's advice. While that advice ends up almost ruining Jane and Bingley's relationship, they still end up happily coupled in the end. Elizabeth tells Jane, "Indeed, Jane, you ought to believe me. No one who has ever seen you together can doubt his affection. Miss Bingley, I am sure, cannot. She is not such a simpleton. Could she have seen half as much love in Mr. Darcy for herself, she would have ordered her wedding clothes. But the case is this: We are not rich enough or grand enough for them". This raises another important theme in the novel: class and society. While Jane and Bingley possess one of the best relationships in the novel, they undergo the trial of a judgmental society. Bingley is significantly wealthier than the Bennet family and society believes that Jane only wants to marry him for his money and status. But, Jane is innocent and pure of heart. She wants to marry Bingely because she loves and respects him. Austen uses this marriage to demonstrate the power of love over soceity and its expectations. The union is one of the two good marriages made by Bennet sisters. But it is the lesser of the two because there is not an additional component of mental challenge between the pair.

Finally, the most famous marriage, and arguably the best one, is that between Elizabeth and Darcy. This is the relationship that the book is centered around. At the start of the novel, Elizabeth is kind to Darcy, but he snubs her and therefore earns her disdain. This begins a verbal match between the two that lasts the majority of the novel. They argue about what makes an ideal woman, about what makes an ideal marriage, and about how society treats women. The novel gains it's title because of Elizabeth and Darcy's pride and their prejudice towards one another. Over halfway through the novel, Darcy realizes his feelings for Elizabeth and proposes to her. But, he does not take her feelings into account. Elizabeth notes, "He concluded with representing to her the strength of that attachment, which, in spite of all his endeavours, he had found impossible to conquer; and with expressing his hope that it would now be rewarded by her acceptance of his hand. As he said this, she could easily see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer. He spoke of apprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real security". Darcy believes that the money and security he will bring to Elizabeth's family is reason enough for their union and that his affection for her is just an added bonus. But, he does not even consider that Elizabeth will follow her own heart instead of following his money. This rejection forces Darcy to reconsider the idea behind his love. Later in the novel, he demonstrates his  love for her by saving the Bennet family from ruin, due to Lydia's elopement. By the end of the novel, both Elizabeth and Darcy have reconciled their pride and prejudice towards each other, which leads to a happy and successful marriage. Because of their mutual respect towards one another and the love that grows throughout the novel and beyond, Elizabeth and Darcy have the example of the best marriage in the novel.

While this book was published over 200 years ago (1813), it's themes are still relevant today. Many young people get married due to a relationship founded in passion and immediate attraction. That's why there are drive-through wedding chapels in Vegas. But there are also marriages like that between Elizabeth and Darcy, marriages that are based on mutual respect and affection for one another. Due to its transcendence of time, the novel is easily adapted today. While there have been several period versions (the 1995 PBS version staring Colin Firth and the 2005 movie version with Keira Knigtley), the most interesting version to me is the Lizzie Bennet Diaries by Pemberley Digital. This series of webisodes performed in a vlog style updates the story into modern times. Lizzie is a mass communications grad student working on her thesis project and Darcy is the head of a multimedia company. Jane is a fashion designer and Bing Lee is a med student. Wickham is a swim coach who makes a sex tape with Lydia and is forced to remove it because Darcy bought out the company. This modern adaptation stars a fantastic cast and they won an Emmy for their ground-breaking trans-media storytelling. Instead of just uploading vlogs, the characters all had Twitter accounts with real time interaction and some characters had additional YouTube channels where they uploaded their own vlogs. This gave a credibility to the characters that made them seem like real people, living their own lives. It brought they story to life in an interesting and unique manner that has continued in Pemberley's other projects, like Emma Approved and Frankenstein, MD.

Catch-22

I'm half way through a new semester at college and instead of writing NaNoWriMo this year, I thought I would use the writing motivation to catch up on my blog. For this post, a novel I just finished reading for my Modern American Novel class, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.

Even though I finished this book last week, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I appreciate it, and I enjoyed it in parts, but it's not a book I can see myself ever rereading. In short, the novel is centered around Yossarian and his time stationed in Italy during World War II. But the novel doesn't have a linear structure. It jumps around Yossarian's timeline- repeating events with more details, switching scenes in the middle of a chapter, etc. Actually, there's nothing in the novel that's linear except the growing number of missions that the men are forced to fly so that Colonel Cathcart can get promoted and be famous.

This novel was published in 1961. The lack of logic in the novel is an extension of the "Theatre of the Absurd" movement. Plays like "Waiting for Godot", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" were popular. This movement focused on absurdity in a world where there is no cosmological meaning or order. After World War II, people suffered a loss of faith and a lack of virtue, especially as America entered the Vietnam War in 1955. This movement in art reflected the public's opinion that words were insufficient tools for communication through a lack of dramatic conflict, plot, character development, and meaningful dialogue.

If you mention "catch-22" to anyone, they probably think of the logical definition of being caught in an endless loop. A common example is that you have to have experience to get a job, but you first have to get a job to gain experience. That stemmed from this novel. While I value the novel and the impact it had, I felt like most of the prose was there for the sake of the overall meaning. This contributes to the lasting literary value of the work, but even after I finished the novel, I still didn't really care about any of the characters (except maybe the Chaplain) and I won't want to revisit them anytime soon.

Random Thoughts on Sorcerer's Stone

I've begun my annual reread of Harry Potter. Here are some random thoughts that were posted to my Tumblr about Sorcerer's Stone:

 In Sorcerer’s Stone, Petunia hears what happened to Lily on the night of her murder from Hagrid at the hut. I wonder how much Dumbledore told her in the letter and how many details she heard for the first time. I wonder if she knows how famous her sister and nephew really are. But I mostly wonder how she stood there and listened to Hagrid.

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 “Seven years there and he won’t know himself.” — Hagrid, Sorcerer’s Stone p.58 It breaks my heart to realize how much Harry actually goes through in seven years at Hogwarts. When I read this line in the first book, I know that Harry will mature and change in his seven years at school. But, when I look back at it from the end of Deathly Hallows and see the man that he grew up to be, I am proud of Harry and everything he overcame. Hagrid was right. Looking back seven years later, I’m sure Harry didn’t know himself as the self-conscious eleven-year old he was here.

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“Do either of you know what house you’ll be in? I’ve been asking around, and I hope I’m in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad…” — Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, p. 106 New headcanon: Everyone has always wondered why Hermione ended up in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw if she’s the brightest witch of her age. She entered the magic world with only the knowledge she had gained from her books and what others told her. Here we find out that she was told that Dumbledore was a Gryffindor. I think it’s safe to assume that she knew about his accomplishments at this point. She entered the school admiring Dumbledore and the great wizard that he was. So I think that the Sorting Hat wanted to put her in Ravenclaw. But Hermione chose Gryffindor because that’s the house Dumbledore was in. 

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 I don’t know why, but I always forget that “Through the Trapdoor” is my favorite chapter in the Harry Potter series until I reread it. In the scheme of the entire series, this is probably a pretty trivial chapter. It doesn’t even contain a Harry vs. Voldemort battle. But it’s when I truly fell in love with the trio and everything they represent. I love that Ron and Hermione didn’t even hesitate in joining Harry when he decided to go try to defeat Snape. I love that once they got there, it took all of them to get Harry into the last section of the journey. It is so symbolic of their friendship throughout the series. It took all of them working together to get the key. Ron played a fantastic game of chess and sacrificed himself. Hermione figured out Snape’s logic puzzle. As a child this was a fantastic lesson; it was ok to accept help from your friends and you could depend on them. The entire trio was instrumental. It wasn’t just Harry’s bravery or Ron’s courage or Hermione’s intelligence. It was all of these combined. None of them could have done it without the other two. That’s what their unique friendship is about- counting on one another when no one else is there to help them. That’s why I love “Though the Trapdoor”- it perfectly symbolizes the amazing friendship and the love they have for each other that is at the core of this series.