Title: Never Let Me Go

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro

Genre: Dystopian Fiction

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Why I read it: NYT Best Books of the 21st Century List

When I first finished this book, my gut instinct was to give it two stars, and after further reflection, I think that is a fair assessment. 

Never Let Me Go is described as dystopian fiction, but calling it that is a disservice. Yes, the root concept is dystopian, but it is presented in such a way that makes you feel like this reality has existed all along. That you were just blind to it. 

The story follows Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy as they grow up together in Hailsham, a school that initially presents as a typical English boarding school. As they reach their adult years, they come to realize their true purpose in a world that sees them as anything but typical. 

My biggest issue with this book is that its so painfully slow at the beginning. World building is incredibly important, but I don’t think we needed so much of it. I made a note at about the halfway mark about how I feel like I had been reading about these characters for so long, yet I felt like I didn’t know them at all. 

Because it was so slow in the beginning, it took me over two months to finish this book. I started it back in February, took an extended pause, and picked it back up at the start of April, so that could have something to do with my lack of connection to it. When I got into the second half, things started getting more interesting, and I found myself turning the pages quite a bit faster. 

On page 237, I finally understood why so many connect with this book. It’s possible that I have the critical thinking skills of a carrot, because such a large piece of me was searching for meaning in this book, and it took me until the very end to find it. 

On page 262, I found this quote notable: “For a long time, people preferred to believe these organs appeared from nowhere, or at most that they grew in a kind of vacuum…So for a long time you were kept in the shadows, and people did their best not to think about you.” To me, this spoke volumes about people turning a blind eye to injustices they see in the world, or challenges that others are facing. Why face uncomfortable things head-on, when you can just pretend that they don’t exist?

It was at this point in the book that the dots connected in my head that these students just wanted to be treated like everyone else, yet they realized that they came from another world entirely, and they’ll never be the same. I thought it was an interesting take on the race and social class challenges of today. 

As I turned the last page, I found myself missing something. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it ended with me feeling like I missed the message or the point. Was it a love story? Was it social commentary? I was left trying to categorize a work that seemed to be unsure of its own identity, even though it has received critical acclaim. 

When reading the discussion prompts included at the back to try to answer some of my lingering questions, I came across one that mentioned a film adaptation. I had no idea that there was a movie, and I knew I needed to watch it immediately and do a comparison. 

I watched the movie the day after I finished the book, so it was still fresh in my mind. The movie was short, only an hour and 45 minutes, and while they needed to cut a significant number of scenes to fit that timeline, I thought the story was effective and well-told. I think I’m going to say something controversial here, but I liked the movie more than I liked the book. 

The book left me feeling indifferent, while the movie moved me to tears. The book covered more about the character’s childhood, but the movie focused more on their adolescent and adult years (which I appreciated). Where the book navigated nuances in relationships with friends and lovers as you age, the movie simplified things to make the love story more obvious and impactful. 

At the end of the day, the book was fine. I can see why people enjoyed it, but it wasn’t for me, and it left me feeling despondent. The movie, on the other hand, gave me the emotional pull I was craving, and left me appreciating the storyline even more. 

TL;DR: Would I recommend it to a friend? No. But I do recommend that people watch the movie.