By Amanda Rutter
T
he book that I have enjoyed the most during 2019 is not a 2019 release – in fact, it’s a novel I should have read much, much sooner than I did. It’s NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro.
I was encouraged to read it as part of a list of modern prose classics, and picked it because it was the only one on that particular list that had a SFF quality. But inside its pages I found much more than a dystopian novel.
It was utterly haunting, with a superlative build from the prosaic beginnings to the desperate end. I went into this novel knowing some vague aspects of it, but nothing takes away from the horror of watching the gentle acceptance of the characters of their ultimate fate.
Some people fight like Katniss, other people go out with a whisper like Ruth, Tommy and Kathy. I found a chilling tale that grew in menace from its gentle beginnings. I found a story that described childhood friendship in all its many forms. And I found a book that I haven’t been able to let go since.
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After training and working as an accountant for over a decade, Amanda Rutter became an editor with Angry Robot, helping to sign books and authors for the Strange Chemistry imprint. Since leaving Angry Robot, she has been a freelance editor, through her own company AR Editorial Solutions, BubbleCow and Wise Ink. She also finds time to write blog posts for Tor.com. In her free time, she is a yarn fiend, knitting and crocheting a storm.
