Never Let Me Go has been described as “moving and disturbing”. What techniques does Ishiguro use to make the reader respond in this way?

Never Let Me Go is in equal measures moving and disturbing. Some of the elements that make the novel most disturbing are also the elements that make it most moving, and vice versa. For example, the realisation that the clones’ lives are shortened and insular is, of course, incredibly disturbing. By that same token, it is the dystopian twist of their shortened lifespan that makes the reader feel so moved, as one might be moved for an animal destined for slaughter in its pen. The humanity inherent in these clones is obvious, and this forces the reader to turn and reflect upon the own mortality and intellectual limitations of their own human life, to moving and disturbing effect. Whilst the reader is made to feel empathy, we are at the same time urged to consider exactly what, or who, has put them into this position and shortened their lives. Ishiguro drops small, subtle hints throughout, with the fact that the disturbing regime controlling these clones’ lives is never laid completely bare creating a distinct uneasiness. Ishiguro’s use of the limited first-person narrator, Kathy, helps to create this sense of mystery. Her narrative is moving in the way it takes the reader with her through her short life, with all of her wistful wonderings and childlike desires, but is ultimately somewhat chilling as well. This chilling effect is created largely by Ishiguro’s use of euphemistic language, their killing being referred to Kathy as “donating” and “completing”, making clear the disturbing apparent ignorance to their own eventual fates.