"Never Let Me Go" and Music

Description: 

In Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, music is very important to the main character, Kathy. However, she only feels comforted by one song she discovered during her time at the boarding school "Hailsham." This fictional song was called "Never Let Me Go" by Judy Bridgewaters, and Kathy treasured this tape during her time at Hailsham. For a while, she often misinterpreted the lyrics, thinking this was a song about a mother rocking her baby, not wanting to be apart from the child. Because of this misinterpretation, she has danced with a pillow in her room like a mother holding a child, and this caused one of the staff members, Madame, to cry. Of course, this is all before Kathy knows about her fate. Still, this song serves as a comfort to Kathy, even when she reuintes with the song in Norfolk when she and Tommy look for the CD together. This book has to do with the unavoidable death of the characters, as they are clones that are meant to donate away their organs. Despite the unavoidable death, one way in which Kathy tries to enjoy her time on earth is by listening to the song "Never Let Me Go" on her tape. That is, until she loses the tape. 

Sources:

Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. Faber and Faber, 2010. 

Moura, Andre. Vinyl Records, Discs, and Three Cassette Tapes. 2019. Pexels, https://www.pexels.com/photo/vinyl-records-discs-and-three-cassette-tape....

Associated Place(s)

Timeline of Events Associated with "Never Let Me Go" and Music

Part of Group:

Artist: 

  • Andre Moura

Image Date: 

26 Jun 2019