Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

"I keep thinking about this river somewhere, with the water moving really fast. And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as fast as they can, but in the end it's just too much. The current's too strong. They've got to let go, drift apart. That's how I think it is with us. It's a shame, Kath, because we've loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can't stay together forever."

I like this cover. It's vague and mysterious and doesn't really mean anything until you've read the book, but I like it. Annoyingly I read the film tie-in copy of the book, with Keira Knightley's face plastered all over the front of it (sorry, I am not a fan), but it was a gift, so I can't complain! But seeing this cover, after I have read the book, has brought back all kinds of memories of my time reading it and the feelings it evoked.

Kazuo Ishiguro's award-winning novel Never Let Me Go is the tale of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy, and the friendship between them as they grow up together at the quiet and idyllic Hailsham School. As many bloggers will tell you, there is a twist to this particular tale, which I will not spoil for you, despite the fact that I had it ruined for me in the trailer of the recent film (frustrating!) and it is not particularly hard to guess once you read the first couple of chapters.

As with all of Ishiguro's work, this is very much a character-driven piece, focusing very much on the three main characters as they move from childhood, to adolescence, and ultimately discovering themselves as adults. The novel is narrated by Kathy, the passive observer of the three, watching life unfold around her in the school and the romance that blossoms between Ruth and Tommy. Kathy is heartbreaking to listen to. What appears at first as disinterest, becomes painfully obvious as a lack of social awareness. She cannot understand or interpret her feelings and how they relate to the people around her. Ruth is the extrovert, desperate for attention and affection from those around, but is more vulnerable than she appears to be. Meanwhile Tommy, sweet sweet Tommy, is the child of the three. Despite obviously caring for Kathy who watches out after him at school, Tommy embarks on a romantic and sexual relationship with Ruth, becoming sucked into a somewhat destructive emotional rollercoaster that he often finds hard to comprehend. As the three move from school to the quiet countryside of Norfolk, they find it hard to accept their new-found independence and struggle to understand the world they have been born into. The reasons for this slowly come to light, helping us to understand more about the school life that originally shaped them.

Never Let Me Go is a story of friendship and love, but above all, it is a story of silence, of restraint, and ultimately, of regret. Events unfold slowly, as the characters come to terms with the events from their childhood and their feelings towards each other. Ironically the pervasive silence and lack of action that caused so many of my friends to find the novel boring, are exactly what I enjoyed most about it.

Last year's film adaptation is surprisingly good. The quicker pace of the film drives the story along, compensating for the lack of pace in the book, and allows the audience to become quick attached to Kathy and her feelings for Ruth and Tommy, as they begin to understand their place in the world and what that means for their relationships. Despite really not being a fan of Keira Knightley, I enjoyed her performance as Ruth, perhaps because we are not really destined to like Ruth's character as she manipulates those around her in an attempt to get what she wants, and ultimately to find happiness. However, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield really stole the show as Kathy and Tommy, and I found myself quite moved by the end of the film, even shedding a tear or two that did not surface during my reading of the book. Perhaps that's the power of cinema...

Never Let Me Go is a gorgeous example of prolonged innocence. While intricately composed and wickedly clever as it develops into a dystopian novel, Ishiguro's expert hand has also brought us a gentle and touching story, full of quiet country lanes and long wistful gazes that mask the brutal complexity of hidden emotion and tumultuous relationships that pervade our brief glimpse into the characters life. Great stuff.