I am still a bit confused with the setting of this book. I know that the school is called Hailsham, but I am still not entirely sure why it is called that, or where in the world it is located. I read a plot summary on this book before reading it, so I know that these characters are involved in cloning, but the book hasn't revealed that to us yet. I don't understand how anybody would comprehend what was happening in this book if they didn't also read the summary. The characters "donate" themselves, and if I didn't know they were using cloning, I would be confused.
I also found it strange that the characters have things called "exchanges", where their artwork is sold among the other people in their school. They are given tokens; the amount depends on how much the guardians think their art is worth, and then they spend this money on other people's art. This whole process doesn't really make sense to me, but I look forward to learning more about this process, and learning about the cloning that takes place.
I definitely agree with you in that these first few chapters have been extremely confusing. I feel like maybe that's what the author wants us to feel. It could be like in The Road where the opening style of the writing and the fact that no names are used to identify the man and the boy contribute to the idea that this is a whole new world where the standards are completely different. Similarly, the author in this book could be trying to have the reader let go of any preconceptions or judgments that she may have coming into the book. Since it's a dystopian society, we honestly have no idea how the community is run and what the expectations are, so by presenting us with so many questions, the author is able to start out with a blank canvas and really create a brand new society in the eyes of the reader.
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds very interesting. I remember reading a book about a girl who was cloned when I was younger. It will be interesting to see how the different books portray the same subject of cloning. In the book I read there wasn't anything about "donating" or "exchanging". It's weird how different authors discuss the same subject in unique ways when writing about a fictional topic.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that Ishiguro intentionally keeps you guessing about the nature of the setting and the characters' story. Why do you think the author keeps the reader in the dark? How does that enhance the story? At times, the "normalcy" of the scene is quite unsettling because we learn exactly what is going on once we have read this very typical (we assume) teenage coming-of-age story.
ReplyDeleteThis story sounds interesting. Maybe the authors point was to make the book confusing so the reader had to fill in parts for themselves. Those types of books I find slightly annoying because I just want to author to make up their mind and tell the story. The fact that this book has cloning in it is intriguing though. It's so far off than anything I could imagine this world doing on a day to day basis.
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