Being Kathy H.: Relatability in Never Let Me Go

This essay takes up relatability as a fundamental thematic and critical concern in Never Let Me Go. The power of the novel, I argue, resides in the way that Ishiguro makes relatability a difficult but necessary task that intentionally creates a great deal of emotional and cognitive dissonance for readers. The problem that the novel identifies with relatability is not that it is too easy, but that it is so difficult. Never Let Me Go offers a kind of object lesson on how hard it is to relate, and the tragic consequences of failing at it.