My grade: B
Overall, this is an interesting and a creative story. At some point, it begins to almost become science fiction, but remains still very much fine literature. It does raise a number of moral dilemmas in regards to medical technological breakthroughs, which I can certainly appreciate.
I do have a significant amount of criticism though. Firstly, for one reason or another, the first 150 pages or so are very difficult to get through, and the pace (along with the plot) picks up drastically after that. Secondly, I'm not exactly in love with Ishiguro's writing style in this book. He employs the same literary tactics over and over again, which loses the desired effect. Thirdly, although I think I understand his reasons for doing so, I don't think he chose the right period of time in the protagonist's life to focus on. The vast majority of the story has to do with Kathy growing up, ages 7 through 18, and a lot of it is centered around problems that children of that age go through, which are to some extent irrelevant to the overall themes.
All in all, though, if you have patience and can force yourself to get through the first bit, you will be surprised with what unveils thereafter.
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