Never Let Me Go: Kazuo Ishiguro

[Dave]

I believe that this is another book, a Booker Prize nominee, whose author would not wish it to be described as Science Fiction, but which is pure SF of the classic kind to me.

It is set in an alternative Present Day England which has diverged from reality sometime after the Second World War. Its very difficult to talk about it without spoiling it; that is the beauty of the way it has been written. The whole story does not unfold until the end of the book. I'd like to talk about it without spoiler space if you have already read it, otherwise do not read on after this post.

It has been compared to 'The Chrysalids' by John Wyndham. I would compare it more to Malorie Blackman's series which begins with 'Noughts and Crosses'; both of which are also alternate universes. My only problem was that this book has a very despondant ending compared to 'The Chrysalids', and I kept wishing the characters wouldn't be such victims and actually do something about it as in 'Noughts and Crosses.' It has also been compared to Margaret Attwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale'. I haven't read that but it probably gives you an idea of this book.

It is the story of three children growing up to young adulthood, told through the eyes of one of them, Kathy, now thirty-one. It is her attempt to come to terms with her seemingly idyllic Hailsham school and with the fate that had always awaited her and her friends in the wider world outside the school gates.

It is a page turner - I found that I had to finish it once I began.

 

[digs]

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

I guess this qualifies to go here, since it's sci-fi (although if Margaret Atwood wrote the same novel she'd throw a fit and call it 'speculative fiction').

Has anyone read Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go? It was a book I had my eye on a while back and forgot about, but when I saw it was coming out as a film I finally decided to pick it up. And I'm really glad I did.

It was as good as I'd hoped - beautifully understated, slow-building, subtle and tragic, ordinary and epic at the same time. Ishiguro is a very patient author: the story coasts along, building a false sense of peace and perfection, until you slowly begin to piece together what's going on. It's wonderfully controlled writing; no fancy flourishes, no big action scenes or climactic confrontions. Seriously an excellent, stirring book - far more concerned with normal human experiences than clever invented worlds (sidenote: I love clever invented worlds).

So, after that little promo spiel (you're welcome Ishiguro!) has anyone else picked this up? What'd you think?

 

[GOLLUM]

Re: Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Nope not read it but do have Ishiuguro's excellent Remains of the Day, which won the Booker and was made into an excellent film.

My "literary" colegaues have not been as enamoured by Ishiguro in recent years and so I've stayed away from his writings on the whole. Having said that Never Let Me Go was apparently runner up to Banville's The Sea for the Booker and you appear to have enjoyed the book a great deal....so perhaps I'lll check it out.

I was not aware that it was being made into a film. If it is as good as Remains was then I'll be first in line at the box office....

 

[fjeronimo]

Re: Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro is an excellent writer, full of flair and humanity, that never disappoints me. Never Let Me Go is no exception as it is a very powerful (albeit slow moving) book traversed by a sense of bittersweet sadness that, as the title implies, never abandons you and never lets you abandon it...

In fact, I've read it over 4 years ago and there are still some scenes that are vivividly playing in my mind as if it were yesterday.

Highly recommended.

 

[Dave]

Re: Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Merged with my earlier post that had no replies. But as you can see, great mind think alike. I almost said, word for word, what you said.

 

[fjeronimo]

It is interesting to note that this book has been recently adapted to cinema in a movie starring Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley (Never Let Me Go (2010) - IMDb).

I'm looking forward to it.

 

[digs]

I'm very excited to see the movie. I'm not really a Keira Knightley fan but I looooove Carey Mulligan.

 

[Sargeant_Fox]

I'm watching this movie in a few weeks. I'm quite excited about it although I haven't read the novel; but the trailer seems promising and I loved Andrew Garfield in the Facebook movie...

 

[Nesacat]

I have not seen the movie but have read most of what Ishiguro has written including Never Let me Go. He's a fine writer and he's tales are tightly controlled with the story unfolding as you turn the pages and everything only coming together by the end of the book.

Admittedly this is quite different from the rest of his writing and it does fall very nicely into the realm of science fiction as I feel does Atwood's Handmaid's Tale.

Never Let Me Go is one of my favourites of Ishiguro's. It's an almost dreamlike book with the terrible things that are happening coming very slowly to the surface. The surface here is beautiful and idyllic. This book has never let me go and I think this might be why I don't wish to watch the movie.

The words paint vivid pictures and they stay with you long after the book has been read and put away. It's the same feeling I have for Remains of the Day.

 

[mosaix]

This is one of those books that Science Fiction haters deny is Science Fiction, like many do with Flowers For Algernon.

For me, it is classic Science Fiction, following in the wake of John Wyndham's work - put people in an unusual situation and see how they react. Only Science Fiction can create the desired backdrop to such a story.

 

[Dave]

Film4 just had a special on this new film. It looks like it will good. Kazuo Ishiguro was enthusiastic about it. I think if they have any more of these specials then it will be hard to keep the lid on the story for anyone who hasn't read the book. It is going to be a great showcase for young British actors.

 

[ventanamist]

It had me hooked right to the end. Really made me think about what crimes we are collectively capable of committing and how we can so easily collectively ignore them if it's to our advantage.
I must admit I like the term speculative fiction as it embraces SF, fantasy and the more literary stuff. But it is a bit of a tautology - almost like saying fictional fiction.
I'm reading 'Fatherland' by Robert Harris at the moment - an alternative Europe where Hitler succeeded. Same sub genre I guess. Three chapters in - good stuff.

 

[booksforlunch]

Ah, I read it for a University seminar. Ishiguru is a good writer and is great at establishing mood. And of course there are the whole ethical implications of the premise, which made up a good part of the seminar's discussions.

However, it also highlighted something about my reading habits: I hate sheeple.

The overwhelming ... passivity... of those poor sods made it very hard for me to relate to them or to, ultimately, care about their fate. I need something in characters to engage me and make me care in order to enjoy a book. That's why in the end Never Let Me Go was my least favourite of the bunch.

Apparently, having main characters that remind me of the cow from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe -and not in a good way- can put me quite off of a book.

 

[ventanamist]

That was my first reaction. 'People just aren't like that! Someone would have made a fuss! Someone would have fought back!' I was really annoyed. But I realise now that it was deliberate, challenging my assumptions about humanity, challenging me to really look for ways we might be doing something similar today.

 

[mosaix]

The overwhelming ... passivity... of those poor sods made it very hard for me to relate to them or to, ultimately, care about their fate. I need something in characters to engage me and make me care in order to enjoy a book. That's why in the end Never Let Me Go was my least favourite of the bunch.

I think this passivity is the very nature of the book and this was the main point that Ishiguro was trying to get across - that you can teach people to accept anything, providing you start young enough.

Spoiler:

What these people were being taught is that they were totally worthless, their only reason for existence was to be farmed for body parts for people more 'deserving' or 'important'. The reason they accepted it is because they were told that that was the purpose of their lives from their very first day - and so believed it.

In my view, Ishiguro is inviting us to consider the nature and structure of our own societies and how people accept their 'roles'.