I read Ishiguro's NLMG last year and it's still messing with my head. It's easily one of my favorite books now, even if calling a book this completely bleak a favorite feels depressing.
Everyone always talks about the slow burn and brutal reveal of what their reality actually is. But for me the true horror of the book was how completely passive Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth are. I mean... they never even try to fight back or run away?? They just accept that they're literal spare parts for society.
It feels less like a standard dystopian plot and way more like a direct call-out of how we live our own lives. We just accept the messed up systems we're born into because we're conditioned to. We become complicit in our own consumption. Its terrifying because they aren't even capable of imaging what freedom looks like.
If anybody read this book - curious how you all interpreted their passivity. Was it a realistic take on childhood indoctrination, or did it just drive you crazy that they didn't try to fight it all? Because their quiet resignation is so hard to swallow but it also feels way too close to reality.
Everyone always talks about the slow burn and brutal reveal of what their reality actually is. But for me the true horror of the book was how completely passive Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth are. I mean... they never even try to fight back or run away?? They just accept that they're literal spare parts for society.
It feels less like a standard dystopian plot and way more like a direct call-out of how we live our own lives. We just accept the messed up systems we're born into because we're conditioned to. We become complicit in our own consumption. Its terrifying because they aren't even capable of imaging what freedom looks like.
If anybody read this book - curious how you all interpreted their passivity. Was it a realistic take on childhood indoctrination, or did it just drive you crazy that they didn't try to fight it all? Because their quiet resignation is so hard to swallow but it also feels way too close to reality.
