I’ve been sitting on this book for a while – my only other experience with this author was the movie version of The Remains of the Day, which I loathed. (I think that was a case of seeing something with the wrong expectations or in the wrong mood – it’s been long enough I can’t remember exactly.) Still, I was really intrigued by the premise of the book, so finally made myself take it off the shelf. I am really glad I did, it’s wonderfully written, and treats what could be a very depressing story with a light, thoughtful hand.
The basic premise is that a woman named Kathy is looking back on her life growing up in what first comes across as an English boarding school. But as she goes into more detail (or if you’ve heard enough about the book beforehand), you know there’s something special about this place. What first comes across as a bunch of orphans in a home are actually clones, bred to provide organ donations, and Hailsham is one of the places where they’re brought up.
You can tell that there’s something special about Hailsham – Kathy gives you enough clues up front so you realize all clones aren’t brought up this way. Hailsham seems to be an experiment to raise the clones as whole people.
So what you get is a meditation on growing up, and finding your place in this world, despite the fact that Kath and her friends have a pre-ordained place. It’s just a really lovely story – makes you think a lot about growing up, and becoming the people that we are as adults.
I probably won’t see the movie on this – I think the interior mediation you get from the book was far more meaningful to me.