never let me go

Never Let Me Go [Book vs Movie]

Michelle7 Comments

Wow. I just finished watching Never Let Me Go. And wow. You might remember that I didn’t LOVE the book as much as everyone else. I don’t know what it was about the movie – the actors, the scenery, the score – that triggered what I think most people feel upon reading the book but I am SOLD. Kazuo Ishiguro, I take back any doubts I had about your storytelling ability. I want to read all of your books right now.

Carey Mulligan was wonderful. I was a little afraid Keira Knightly would outshine her but Keira Knightly did a surprisingly good job staying within her supporting character role. And Andrew Garfield was a perfect Tommy. The younger actors were just as good as their older counterparts. The music and the setting were both beautiful and haunting.

The movie followed the book very closely. I am glad that I read the book but I am even more glad that I watched the movie so that I could finally experience the Never Let Me Go that everyone told me about. This is a rare instance where I want to say the movie was better than the book. But  I really think the movie just enhanced the book for me.

Has anyone else seen Never Let Me Go? Thoughts?

Never Let Me Go [Book Review]

Michelle7 Comments

Title: Never Let Me Go
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Genre: Contemporary Fiction; Dystopian
ISBN: 1400078776
Pages: 288
Year: 2005
Publisher: Vintage Books
Source: Personal Library
Rating: 4/5

Plot Summary:

Kathy, a successful carer, is nearing the end of her career. As her present life moves forward, the story shifts to her upbringing at the Hailsham boarding school.  There she befriends Tommy and Ruth. The book follows them through their time at Hailsham, their time as young adults in the Cottages, and then on to their present lives. It sounds quiet, but there is much more going on beneath the surface that I’ll leave you to discover on your own.

My Thoughts:

Never Let Me Go is one of those books that I should have read a long time ago, kept meaning to read, and then finally picked up after being badgered my my husband for years. So I expected it to be amazing.

What I found was something that was very good but didn’t quite live up to that expectation of amazing. I can’t really put my finger on what was missing for me. It might be that I figured out what was going on pretty early in the novel (was it supposed to be a secret all the way until the end or were we supposed to know the whole time?). It might simply be a case of setting my hopes to high. Either way, something about the novel just wasn’t quite there for me.

That said, the novel is beautifully written and absolutely intriguing, as well as a perfect amount of creepy. It raises interesting questions about what it is to be human and how far technology should go. Despite that missing Something, I would highly recommend it to fellow dystopian fans and anyone interested in a thoughtful, well-written novel. I am anxious to read more of Kazuo Ishiguro in the future.

I was going to share some passages to prove to you that it is, in fact, beautiful, but Ben thought it was a good idea to loan out our copy before I finished writing this review.

Other Reviews:

Buy It Now: Amazon; IndieBound; Powell’s; Book Depository