Review: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Before the random number generator chose Never Let Me Go, I had never actually heard of it before. It landed on the master list because Time Magazine included it in their 'Best of' novel list. When I chose it, based on the title alone, I was thinking: "Oh geez, a romance novel. Lovely." Luckily, this novel is not actually in the romance genre. If anything, Never Let Me Go is a mystery. The form of it makes it very, very difficult to give details without spoiling surprising plot points, so this review will be relatively brief (plus Superbowl food isn't going to make itself!)

This novel, which was written by the British author Kazuo Ishiguro, is narrated by Kathy, a woman who is going through work and life transitions in a modern-day alternate-universe England. She takes this time to reminisce about her time at a special, insular school named Halsham and her friendship with two other students there. The narration traces the life of those three from early childhood to adulthood as they realize the existence of and then question the reason for various peculiarities at Halsham. Why are they at the school? Why are they not ever allowed to leave? Why, even as young children, do the students have the best of their art taken out of the school annually by a mysterious woman who seems to fear the children? All of these questions and many more are explained as the narration progresses.

The author does a tremendous job painting the characters for this novel. In particular, Kathy's two best friends, Ruth and Tommy, are brilliantly characterized. Ruth is somewhat two-faced: steadfastly loyal at times, yet willing to trash on Kathy and Tommy numerous times in the novel to impress others. Tommy is childlike and ebullient, yet with a vicious temper and is prone to ridiculous tantrums. Kathy herself is never really examined deeply since it is her that is telling the story. The most you find out about her is that she is somewhat sentimental (for a Halsham student, at least) and she has a very curious nature about her.

The narration has a very matter of fact way of telling the story, which at first bothered me, but then I realized it was purposefully done to reflect how Kathy was raised at Halsham. Concepts or occurrences that may seem absolutely outrageous to the reader are put forth by the narrator and are not analyzed or begged "why?". This is an interesting way for the author to deal with a very controversial topic. By taking his own voice out of the equation, he avoids the need to moralize on one of the two main themes of Never Let Me Go, which happens to be scientific ethics. The other, less sensitive them of the novel, is of course friendship. The interactions over time between the three characters is extremely interesting, especially in contrast with the way we are used to children acting.

Is Never Let Me Go worth a read? Heck yes, it is. Does it deserve a spot on a top one-hundred novels list? I'm not so certain. It is a very touching and eye-opening novel. If fact, I would actually describe it as heartbreaking. I just wouldn't put it in the same category as some of the other great novels that have ever been written. Because of this, I give Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro a 3.75 out of 5 stars (with 4 stars being the cut off for deserving to be on the list).

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Next up for review: The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald! Also, you may have noticed that I've been posting a lot of non-book stuff lately. That isn't necessarily the way this blog is going, but I don't want to niche this in just as a purely book blog, so I'll be posting other content I feel is neat as I go along. I'm a well-rounded individual!

Rockin' out at the Mainstay

Headed to Mainstay last night to see a friend's band play. I had never been to there before, but it was actually a pretty decent time. They have a very good, reasonably-priced beer selection. Not just for a concert venue, but for a normal bar. You can also get bombers of your favorite cheap beer if you are so inclined (I'm not). Molly Wellmann was working the bar last night, which was a pleasant surprise. There was a bit of strangeness in the crowd, though, because there was a bike convention going on. Not rowdy, however, which was pretty surprising.

 Mad Anthony opened for Banderas, both of which put on a great show. I've seen both a handful of times. They always seem to bring the volume and energy. Forgive me for the pictures; phone cameras work like garbage in dark bars.

Beer! (A continuing series...)

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum (Imperial IPA)

via Cork 'n Bottle (Covington)

Plus, the fruit it smells exactly like.

Library Lunch: Le's Cafe

It seems like banh mi is the new big thing. With the opening of Pho Lang Thang in the Findlay Market, many more Cincinnattians are being exposed to the deliciousness of Vietnamese food. If you work downtown and can't make it up to the Findlay Market, or if Pho Lang Than is just too busy for your likings, there is another option for you.

Little known to most folks, the main branch of the Cincinnati is home to Le's Cafe, a small shop and food joint where you can find a wide variety of food, including the mythical banh mi. I want to thank Cincinnati Bites for the post about Le's Cafe. If not for this post, I probably never would have given the tiny little eatery a chance, even though I'm at the library several times a week.

(Tiny, little Le's Cafe)

I had stopped by once before and, to my disappointment, they were not serving banh mi on that day. I left that day wearing a sad face and filed the idea in my head for another day. The wonderful photographer Thadd had a post a couple weeks ago about the banh mi there and it jumpstarted the memory (by the way, check out his post for much better pictures). I decided to give it a whirl again last week and this time I had much more luck.

I saw 'banh mi' on the little whiteboard they have their special on and gave a little squeal of delight (not really, but I could have). I ordered one of them and a small order of a noodle dish whose name I am forgetting because it is 6:30 and I don't have enough coffee yet. Maybe lo mein. They were out of cilantro and hot peppers for the sandwich, which are a huge part of its flavor profile, but I gave it a go anyways. 

Between the sandwich, the noodle dish and a bottle of Diet Coke, how much did my meal come to? $6.45. Yes, six dollars and forty five cents. You are not reading that incorrectly. The sandwich was $3.00, the noodles $2.00, and the Diet Coke $1.45. The value of this lunch is unbeatable. I happily had my lunch rung up and skipped back to the office to fill my belly.

(My phone takes horrible photos)

I tackled the lo mein first and while it was not the best I've ever had and perhaps was reheated, it was still pretty darn good. Definitely better than $2.00 worth of good. There was a good amount of chicken in it. The banh mi was the star of this show, however. 

Even missing those two ingredients, this sandwich was delicious. I'll definitely say it is one of the best I've had since moving to Cincinnati. The baguette was good, but was really a delivery mechanism for the amazing-ness inside of it. There are so many flavors going on here; from the smoky taste of the pork loin and cold cuts, to the creaminess of the pate- mayo mixture, to the sharpness of the shredded carrots and crunch of the cucumbers. Note that this sandwich was tremendous even without the addition of two key ingredients. With cilantro and hot peppers, it would be a veritable taste bomb.

I'm going to put it out there and just say it: at $3.00, the banh mi at Le's Cafe is without a doubt the best lunchtime deal in downtown Cincinnati. Perhaps even within the city limits. I will be back again and again. If you're at the library around lunch time, go give Le's Cafe a look. They're nice, they make a hell of a sandwich, and it won't lighten your wallet much.

CPS: Tutors Needed!

I tweeted about this last week, but I think it needs a little more emphasis. This blog focuses on reading and literature because I was lucky enough to have great parents and teachers who stressed the importance of both. Unfortunately, not every child has the support system available to him or her which fosters reading as an enjoyable, valuable experience. I believe that this has a great deal to do with why almost half of the fourth-grade students in the Cincinnati Public Schools are not considered proficient in reading.

To combat this, CPS and the Strive Partnership has put out the call for 2,000 new tutors to help with reading and math at ten targeted elementary schools. Prospective tutors must complete a two-hour training for reading and/or math. More information, included the list of targeted schools and contact information, can be found below.

The kids really need your help. Think about all the good times you have had reading your favorite books and then think about all of the kids who are and will be deprived of those feelings. The time commitment is negligible (at least 45 minutes a week) compared to the benefits the child you tutor will receive.

Original Enquirer Article

Strive Together website