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Discuss Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro!

I loved the film and the book. I actually can't decide which one I like more, which is surprising since I tend to be in the "book > movie version" camp.

I hope you guys like it. The story is told in flashbacks and the structure is somewhat non-linear, but not difficult to follow.

GET YOUR TISSUES READY.

(Personally, I thought the film missed the point of the book completely, although the actors seemed to understand the characters well so it was okay, but nowhere nears as good as the book.)

I can't decide whether I should do this or Dark Places first since I'm doing them both and already have them. Decisions decisions!

You can always alternate between books or go by page count :)

Read it last year but still haven't seen the movie. Lots of good stuff in it but I wasn't crazy about it.

The book was kind of boring. Is it bad that I preferred the movie adaptation of this one? Or that despite not really caring for it I bought the UK edition at the thrift store for my collection?

God, I lurve this book so hard. I'm looking forward to a weepy bath in the next week.

Since I've already read the other two books for this month, I will give this one a chance. I didn't like the movie as much but books are usually better right?

The book is much better. So rich and the writing is lovely.

I just started this today and I'm so intrigued. I want to know what is actually going on/what the donations are!

And it seems like Keira Knightley would be perfect for Ruth. Hopefully the movie will be on Netflix...

Gonna start this one today! I'm proud of myself for finishing Dark Places on time to get this one done too :)

lol and for some reason i'm listening to Florence's Never Let Me Go in preparation

I'm halfway through. I should finish today or tomorrow.

Laura wrote: "Hopefully the movie will be on Netflix..."

No such luck. I checked the other night. It used to be on demand all the time, but I don't have cable anymore.

Jessica wrote: "No such luck. I checked the other night. It used to be on demand all the time, but I don't have cable anymore."

Dammit, and I recently got rid of cable too. I'll have to rent it through iTunes instead.

I'm nearly done with the book and should finish today. I'm honestly not really sure what I think of it at this point.

I just read the first chapter last night and was just ....so completely bored it hurt. Someone help me, gimme a word of encouragement to keep going #itgetsbetter or something cuz man.

I just hate it when authors are being vague about their concept cuz they're waiting to reveal it later and then in this particular case the opening has no bite to it whatsoever.

Yeah, it's definitely a slow burn. I appreciate that there isn't a huge exposition dump, but the premise is barely explored/explained at all.

If you didn't like the first chapter, I doubt whether you'll like it. The rest of the book is much the same.

In my case, it helped to see the movie first. It took me two attempts to finish the book because I was irked by the somewhat non-linear narrative style, but I ended up appreciating that after I took a break from reading and came back to it several months later.

It's hard to explain, but to me the author isn't being vague for the sake of ~shock value later on. It's because we are relying on Kath to tell us this story and to her, the whole thing w/ the donations is pretty much common knowledge, plus the reveal of information is so gradual that it seems ordinary/boring. Since I enjoyed the book and movie so much, I will say that #itgetsbetter, but to each their own, of course.

@Laura but...but I have to finish every book I start...help

Marie wrote: "In my case, it helped to see the movie first. It took me two attempts to finish the book because I was irked by the somewhat non-linear narrative style, but I ended up appreciating that after I to..."

Oh okay should I watch the movie first then? Or even during I guess since I already started it and I'd have to wait a few days for Netflix dvd to get sent

Wigs wrote: "Marie wrote: "In my case, it helped to see the movie first. It took me two attempts to finish the book because I was irked by the somewhat non-linear narrative style, but I ended up appreciating t..."


I think getting the movie would help, too.

I also agree that to Kath, all this stuff is normal, so hearing more about it bit by bit seems more natural.

I think the real impact of the donations comes across more once they are older and the story comes together more since it's not such a distant memory for her.

Yes, as Jessica said, I think that would help. There's a title card (or captions, I guess) that appears that puts the viewer immediately into the framework of what to expect, which I also think is useful in understanding this work. Never Let Me go is like the most un-sci-fi sci-fi book I've read to date, tbh.

Jessica wrote: "... I think the real impact of the donations comes across more once they are older and the story comes together more since it's not such a distant memory for her."

Perfectly put; I totally agree with this, especially since (view spoiler)[Kath has come to terms with her own expiration (hide spoiler)].

Marie wrote: "Jessica wrote: "... I think the real impact of the donations comes across more once they are older and the story comes together more since it's not such a distant memory for her."



Exactly!
(view spoiler)[And seeing the toll the process has on Ruth and then Tommy really snaps it all into focus for Kath. (hide spoiler)]

Marie wrote: " Never Let Me go is like the most un-sci-fi sci-fi book I've read to date, tbh."

I totally agree, Marie! I just finished it on my lunch break today, and am still trying to figure out my reaction to it. I liked it, and definitely thought it was beautifully written, but I didn't really connect with it either. As you said, the sci-fi is subtle and it's really more about the characters.

And I definitely want to watch the movie now.

And Wigs, it's not a long book so even if you don't end up liking it, it won't take too long to get through!

Okay I read chapter 2 last night I think I can get through it lol but it might be a difficult time. Hopefully I'll ease into it but it seems to take me forever to read a page.

I dunno maybe it's me though all three books I'm reading right now seem to be boring me and maybe it's just that this was finals week and I'm like spent. Who knows.

So it's getting better. I like hearing about Ruth, I especially liked that little scene with the imaginary horses because I like the thought of a little Keira Knightley ordering around the other little girl etc that was cute.

My prediction for what's going on is (view spoiler)[that these kids are being raised as organ donors and that's it? Like they do creative things to be productive while they're waiting to be old enough and then their organs get harvested and then they start to shut down? I dunno that seems to be what's being implied but we'll see. (hide spoiler)]

I just finished it, and I didn't really like it. I felt I was hearing my 16 year old niece talking about what happens in her high school and the drama with her best friends in a really passive way.

Only thing that made me finish it was thinking of Keira's acting in the movie.

Still a little slow I'm in part two now. I watched the preview for the movie and I think that helped, it looks like the movie is more cohesive than the book. I think the book may suffer from being confined to Kath since she seems a little scatterbrained. I'm kind of tired of the chapter end formula which is like "and because this happened, this happened and i'll tell you about it if you turn the page" because it feels like a forced break.

I don't hate it! I just feel like it's very slow, I mean slow burn is right, Laura, that's the best phrase for it. I'm liking some of it and I think watching the trailer, even though it gives too much away, made it like help me see what's going to come to help me keep going etc.

Glad you're hanging in there, Wigs!

Has anyone read The Remains of the Day? While I didn't adore Never Let Me Go, I did like the writing and would be interested in checking out something else by the author.

Okay I've finished. I couldn't decide between 3 and 4 since I think it's about a 3.5 but oh well. That last paragraph killed me oh lord.

The one thing I reallllly wish though is that (view spoiler)[there were details on the organ donation. All I wanted to know was what was being donated each time. All that needed be said was like "his second donation, such and such organ." And seeing as Kath is a carer I think medical talk would be no problem for her. But since the author doesn't mention it I feel like he's shying away from the idea of solidifying his world building. Like I want to know exactly what organs they're getting rid of and living for a time before the final stuff. What killed Ruth on the second time?

Like okay we know you can donate kidneys but what else? Are they giving a lung? And after that what...a length of intestines I mean I dunno. I want to know! (hide spoiler)]

Okay I've just watched the movie it does a much better job of showing the medical side of things, much better at showing Kath longing for Tommy, much better at a cohesive timeline.

The one thing it's missing is the Norfolk legend which would have made the last scene a little more sensical but otherwise I think the movie is a better experience.

I'm surprised by the commentary here. I actually really enjoyed this book because it was so domestic and anti-scifi. I found the subtle hints about the school's "secret" really engaging and much more realistic than if they had just explained everything to the reader at once. In that way I found Ishigoru's style to be very engaging. I so think he could have developed Kath and Tommy's relationship a bit more but overall I liked how commonplace everything felt when you really consider the horrifying implications of what Kath's society was doing.

I agree. I live that we don't hear about the medical stuff. Of course Kathy isn't going concentrate on that...