Stirring up responsibility, sadness & ethics

I cannot say Never Let Me Go is a bad book, no not at all, but I cannot even say it’s a book that everyone will enjoy. Firstly, it’s a story about relationships – the story of 3 friends who go through the same experiences but have different reactions to it. Yes, there is a suspense to it that although doesn’t shock you (partly because of the way it’s introduced) does make you uncomfortable if society were to reach such inhumane levels. The rate at which we are going though, it wouldn’t be surprising if such experiments were already underway.

It’s a sensitive story that by the end doesn’t make you sob but feels you leaving despondent. Kathy, the narrator sums up the feeling aptly when she says though the tears are free flowing, she isn’t sobbing. It’s a story about things we do even when we know the outcome won’t go our way, holding on to a feeling that maybe things will change, perhaps there is a way out, even when reality is staring us in the face. We have all been there, its human nature to hold on to hope and even at the cost of whopping disappointment we wouldn’t change that approach. Perhaps that’s just the way we are wired. I am sure there are practical people who view this world as either black or white but when it comes down to something they care about or losing someone they love, somehow that quintessential hope creeps in. I don’t think anyone is immune from it or devoid of it.

That said the story also stirs up some ethical discussion. It talks about how we choose to ignore what is ethically wrong if it promises to keep us or our loved ones safe. Take the case of Gitmo – as long as those inmates are not on US soil and we are safe and protected who cares if they are being water boarded or worse. At least they are in the shadows, not in front of us everyday reminding us of what is wrong with our world and for many reasons how far into violence we have plunged it. We talk about it for a day or two but eventually when it makes us uncomfortable we push it in the background and move on with our life as if nothing has happened.

Same is the case with the planet – we know Earth is in peril and if she decides to show her real face we are in big, big trouble. But in this case we don’t want to do anything until we are forced to. Why wait for a government or a nation or the world to do something? Why not do it because we are citizens of this Earth and keeping her from harm is our responsibility, just as we keep our children and our families safe? When will our I’s and mine’s become large enough to encompass not just our families but the wider notion of everything around us that we depend on? We plunder Earth for her resources but when it comes to being responsible for her we want no part in it. Really, how selfish can we be? Shove all the save the planet talk in the background but hey if you increase the price of that oil, I will be up in arms. Can’t we see that ultimately it’s all connected?

So if you like sensitive stories without happy endings, give Never Let Me Go a chance. Incidentally, the British made a movie of it too starring Keira Knightley & Carey Mulligan, not sure yet if I am keen on it.

Keeping in line with the somber tone, I have started Veronika Decides to Die, a Paulo Coehlo story, about a 24 year old woman who decides to die because of everything that is wrong with the world. More on that soon.

For now, enjoy the long weekend and the fleeting sunshine.