With unusual vigour, I stayed up till midnight or so, and polished off a novel in just over 24 hours earlier today. I can’t remember the last time I’d been compelled to keep on going like that – it says a lot about the flow and simplicity of the book, another of the 2005 Booker shortlisters by Kazuo Ishiguro.
You might think that because I gobbled it up like a stack of Pringles, that I would be wildly enthusiastic, but I’ve had half a day to settle down and consider things. If I hadn’t read Margaret Atwood’s Handmaiden’s Tale only 6 months ago, I would be frothing about this one to all and sundry, but the storyline and style of this one was so similar that I started to compare them long before the end. And this one wasn’t quite as good. And then I thought about how complex The Sea was, and how the choice of phrases and language was a lot more satisfying. And suddenly it felt like a 3 instead of a 4.5. This story of a group of human organ donors bred for the task was idealistic, compelling and ultimately sad. The most interesting elements were the surprises about what their true purposes were, and the dignity issues surrounding human organ cloning. Whilst it was an engaging read, the frustrating relationship triangle between Kath, Ruth and Tommy became repetitive and pointless after awhile, and such a depressing ending was a bit much for characters who were doomed anyway. 3.5 stars for this one.