I shouldn't even be reading anything at all. I've noticed that in times of great duress, I splurge on books and read myself comatose. I know reading doesn't make the stress go away ,but the imaginary world in the pages of a book sure makes the world a better place to be in - if only for a while.

I have many questions to ask Kazuo, primary of which is: 'When the clones went down to Norfolk to do some shopping, they paid for it, but I want to know; where did they get the money? They weren't working!' Unless of course they were given money by 'Hailsham', but this money wasn't like, neverending. Some of them stayed at the Cottages (a donation pre-training ground) for years, so did that mean they were given endless supplies of money for just staying there? Surely, it goes against everything the 'powers that be' stood for? I was going to add another question, but I'm going to look stupid so I'll leave it for another post.

One of the powerful things about this book is how Kazuo shows that human beings are intrinsically made to love and to connect with another human being - that special someone. From the girl clone who looks incessantly at porn magazines to find her 'model' (the person she was made from), to the girl whose dreams of working in a normal office like 'normal people' are formed by an advertisement in a magazine, Kazuo weaves a superb tale of human belonging and childhood dreams. There's a haunting part of the book when one of the central characters is swaying to a song and holding on to an imaginary baby. One of the 'guardians' (their keepers) finds her and weeps, because she knows that the girl will never have babies. They've been purposely scientifically engineered thus.

All the clones live with the knowledge that their very existence revolts people. Human beings recoil from them, yet they're quick to summon them when their body parts are needed. I suppose it's no different from our relationship with illegal immigrants in the UK. We scream blue murder because they're overflooding our 'tiny island' yet we admit that without them, those low paying jobs that are so integral for any city to function will not be filled. Who would like to clean seven office floors for £3 an hour? Who would like to get sick knowing that if you dare go to a doctor's surgery, the first thing you're asked for is your medical card? The immigration underworld. God help us.

I'm not sure I'll read another book of Kazuo's. I probably will. I just hope it doesn't take as long to get going. As for me , no more books until at least the 2nd week of 2007.