The plot: You’d be forgiven for thinking that this book is a gentle coming of age story, set in the English countryside. Kathy, Tommy and Ruth grow up together at Hailsham, a boarding school that seems idyllic but hides a most unsettling secret.

As the friends grow up, the truth about their lives – and the purpose for which they were created – becomes apparent. The science fiction elements to this novel are understated, making it feel less like a dystopian thriller and more like an emotional reflection on memory, mortality, friendship and love.

What did I think of this book?

I first read Never Let Me Go a few years ago. We had a lot going on at the time, and if I’m totally honest, its big themes and understated tone passed me by. I revisited it several years later on a holiday to the Norfolk Broads. Perhaps it was the rural setting, perhaps it was that I was on holiday and had hours of head space to really focus, but I found that I enjoyed it much more the second time around.

Ishiguro’s deliberately restrained style takes some getting used to. Never Let Me Go is not a novel where the emotional moments are hammered home; instead, Ishiguro lets these moments quietly accumulate until their impact becomes impossible to ignore.

The result is a book that has a haunting feel, without veering into melodrama. Kathy’s calm, reflective narration makes the story more affecting, because of everything she does not say.

It’s beautifully written – as if the utmost care was taken with every line – and occasionally frustrating, but ultimately a very moving work.

What was most interesting about this book?

It’s all about how Ishiguro makes the extraordinary seem ordinary. After all, what is ordinary about the novel’s central conceit (no spoilers!)? The horrifying reality at the heart of the novel is presented almost in a matter of fact manner, making it feel disturbingly plausible. As readers, we can begin to believe in a world where such events could become reality.

Memory is another key theme of Never Let Me Go. Kathy constantly looks backwards, reconstructing her childhood and relationships. That being said, memory isn’t presented as a perfect record. It’s subjective, selective and sometimes evasive. That means this this novel is as much about the stories we tell ourselves about our lives, as it is a dystopian work.

What will I take away from this book?

My biggest takeaway from Never Let Me Go was that our circumstances may be out of our control, but our relationships – the way we love, remember, and connect with those around us – still matters.

This is a book that asks some huge questions, about mortality, exploitation, what makes us human, and the nature of free will, but it never feels preachy. It left me thinking about those questions long after I’d finished reading.

What makes this book a modern classic?

Published in 2005, Never Let Me Go has rightfully earned its place amongst modern classics because it is a rare work, managing to be both of its time and completely timeless. It takes familiar science fiction ideas and strips them right back, using them to examine some very familiar human concerns: falling in love, ageing, and losing people we care about.

Ishiguro’s prose is very simple and controlled. This isn’t a novel that shouts for our attention – it’s a softer approach that quietly gets under our skin.

Over two decades on, Never Let Me Go remains an unsettling, relevant and deeply human work of literature. I think that’s a pretty good definition of a modern classic.