The problem of the unreliable narrator in the dystopian world of Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Never Let Me Go”

Abstract

The study aims to substantiate an assessment of the reliability of Kathy’s narration in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel “Never Let Me Go”. The study examines memories of Hailsham, the pupils’ ideas about their origins and future, slips of the tongue, and the euphemisation of the narrative. Three levels of knowledge are compared: the protagonist’s awareness in childhood, the perspective of the adult narrator, and the information available to the presumed addressee and the reader. The scientific originality lies in the proposed distinction between three levels of incompleteness: the gradual disclosure of information to the pupils, retrospection in Kathy’s account, and a particular sequence in which information is revealed. As a result, it is shown that the novel employs focalized narration disrupted by memory lapses, euphemisms, and the limited scope of Kathy’s understanding. Unreliability, therefore, must be substantiated with regard to specific statements made by the narrator, rather than being treated as a pre-established property of the narrative as a whole. In the context of Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian world, the term “unreliable narrator” can – and perhaps should – be reconsidered.

Research materials

1. Исигуро К. Не отпуская меня = Never Let Me Go: роман / пер. с англ. Л. Мотылева. М.: Эксмо, 2020.
2. Ishiguro K. An interview with Kazuo Ishiguro: Author Interview // BookBrowse. https://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/477/kazuo-ishiguro

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Author information

About this article

Publication history

• Received: October 10, 2026.
• Published: November 13, 2026.

Keywords

• Кадзуо Исигуро
• роман «Не отпускай меня»
• ненадёжный рассказчик
• антиутопический мир
• повествовательная достоверность
• Kazuo Ishiguro
• novel “Never Let Me Go”
• unreliable narrator
• dystopian world
• narrative reliability

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© 2026 The Author(s)
© 2026 Gramota Publishing, LLC

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