Kathy H. as an Unreliable Narrator

The entirety of the story told in Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is told through Kathy recalling memories from her past. These memories date as far back as when Kathy and her friends were five or six years old, and at the time she is narrating, she is 31. Because of the vast amount of time that has passed between the stories Kathy is telling and when her narration takes place, and because the narration only occurs from her point of view, Kathy can be viewed as an unreliable narrator. 

 From the very beginning of the novel, Kathy acknowledges the fallible nature of her memory, writing that “[t]his was all a long time ago, so I might have some of it wrong” (13). In recounting the start of her friendship with Ruth, Kathy says “I can remember, at five or six, doing things with Hannah and with Laura, but not with Ruth” (45). Personally, I remember very little from when I was that age, and I’m only twenty years old. I’m sure my memories will continue to fade as I get older. Maybe I just have a bad memory, but I find it a bit implausible that Kathy remembers details from that long ago in her life. Or maybe Ishiguro necessitates that readers suspend their disbelief at Kathy’s ability to remember for the sake of the story. Either way, Kathy’s description of her time at Hailsham is likely partially fabricated, since it occurred so long ago. 

A secondary reason that Kathy’s narration is unreliable is because it presents the events that occurred at Hailsham, The Cottages, and beyond from only her perspective. The perspective Kathy offers on Ruth and Tommy is entirely subjective, but, because hers is the only perspective offered, it is most commonly the view adopted by the reader. There are quite a few instances in the novel in which Kathy reveals that Ruth and Tommy remember an event she is describing differently than she does, which further reveals the subjectivity of her narration. 

 Many fiction novels fall victim to unreliable narrators, and Never Let Me Go is no exception. While the presence of an unreliable narrator does not make Kathy’s story invalid, the reader should be cautious as they read, and question how the events recalled could be seen or interpreted from someone else’s point of view.