I’m Angry About the Film Adaptation of Never Let Me Go by Kazua Ishiguro

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Abstract

</a></i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42379216-the-truants">The Truants</a>” by Kate Weinberg. Others I already read and loved, like “<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42815544-bunny">Bunny</a>” by Mona Awad. But then a commenter gave a heartfelt recommendation for a book I’d always seen around, but for some unknown reason never added to my library queue. It was “<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6334.Never_Let_Me_Go">Never Let Me Go</a>” by Kazuo Ishiguro.</p><h2 id="011e">It’s a Great Book</h2><p id="712a">I borrowed it from the library and started reading. At the start, we’re introduced to our narrator Kathy H, who is a “carer” and has been one longer than most. We learn she went to a boarding school called Hailsham, and that the “doners” she cares for regard that school as something of a fantasy. She transitions into talking about what it was like growing up there, and of her classmates and friends Ruth and Tommy.</p><p id="ccf9">As soon as the book gets to the part where Tommy apologizes to Kathy for accidentally hitting her in the face, which is right at the beginning, I’m hooked. I don’t 100% know what’s happening in this school, but I’m in exactly the same position as the students at the school — I have an inkling, but not a true understanding, until the end. It’s masterfully achieved, this balance that keeps you right on the level with the book’s characters.</p><p id="3b1d">After reading it, I got so excited, I wanted to see the movie. I’d heard it was good. Released in 2010, I’d read that it did well with critics.</p><h2 id="c61d">It’s a Terrible Movie</h2><p id="5f05">Critics can be wrong. Sometimes, I suspect, no one wants to be the one to go against the crowd, and possibly look stupid. The movie sucks. It’s

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unwatchable.</p><p id="3dff">It spoils the central mystery of the story right off the bat. In fact, even the trailer does.</p><p id="87c7">It also changes the major themes. The book is about what it means to be human, as well as the inevitability of death and how, through memory, we can mature and correct past mistakes — if only we have time. But the film changes key details, including the titular scene, to make the story about, well, romantic love. Which is a fine and dandy theme for countless stories but my god, not for <i>this</i> one!</p><p id="b4bb">The book gives readers the feeling that we intimately understand the nuances that underline every interaction, whereas the film flattens each character and scene, making them plain as rice cakes.</p><p id="e5b4">This might be the fault of filmmaking in general. It’s hard to convey nuances in film, compared to the way a very brilliant novelist can. Fantastic writers make their tricks look easy, but the fine nuance of the book is difficult to replicate without the careful first-person narration of Kathy H. After all, she’s spent her life replaying and analyzing the details she’s conveying to us in her mind, and we feel that in every single line of prose.</p><h2 id="92d4">If There’s Any Chance You Might Read the Book, DO NOT Watch the Movie</h2><p id="fb06">My fear is that anyone who watches the film version of “Never Let Me Go” will have the book ruined for them. And I hate that, because it’s a very fine book, a real work of art.</p><p id="17eb">So please, if you like reading excellent books, do not watch the movie or even its trailer. Just get the book and read it. After that, watch the film if you want, so you can come back here to either tell me I was right or that I’m out of my mind.</p></article></body>

It came out in 2010, but I only just saw it and I’m pissed.

Cover of book on left, movie poster on right. Credit: Faber and Faber | Fox Searchlight

Recently, on a message board about books I frequent, someone posted a familiar lament: they’d just finished reading “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt, and now no other book did much for them. They were desperate for recommendations for other books that might scratch their itch for a blend of high-quality, richly detailed prose, a slightly gothic educational setting, and a mood that feels almost like a mystery or noir, though in fact, it’s neither.

I identified strongly with this ask. I read “The Secret History” over 15 years ago and I’ve read between 60 and 120 novels every year since then, but that book stuck with me more than most. It’s a great read. “The Goldfinch” by the same author is controversial — people love it or hate it. “The Little Friend” is almost universally despised. But not “The Secret History.” It’s widely beloved, and it still stands among my all-time favorites.

I read all the comments to see what other books people were recommending. Some I’d already read and didn’t particularly care for, like “The Truants” by Kate Weinberg. Others I already read and loved, like “Bunny” by Mona Awad. But then a commenter gave a heartfelt recommendation for a book I’d always seen around, but for some unknown reason never added to my library queue. It was “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro.

It’s a Great Book

I borrowed it from the library and started reading. At the start, we’re introduced to our narrator Kathy H, who is a “carer” and has been one longer than most. We learn she went to a boarding school called Hailsham, and that the “doners” she cares for regard that school as something of a fantasy. She transitions into talking about what it was like growing up there, and of her classmates and friends Ruth and Tommy.

As soon as the book gets to the part where Tommy apologizes to Kathy for accidentally hitting her in the face, which is right at the beginning, I’m hooked. I don’t 100% know what’s happening in this school, but I’m in exactly the same position as the students at the school — I have an inkling, but not a true understanding, until the end. It’s masterfully achieved, this balance that keeps you right on the level with the book’s characters.

After reading it, I got so excited, I wanted to see the movie. I’d heard it was good. Released in 2010, I’d read that it did well with critics.

It’s a Terrible Movie

Critics can be wrong. Sometimes, I suspect, no one wants to be the one to go against the crowd, and possibly look stupid. The movie sucks. It’s unwatchable.

It spoils the central mystery of the story right off the bat. In fact, even the trailer does.

It also changes the major themes. The book is about what it means to be human, as well as the inevitability of death and how, through memory, we can mature and correct past mistakes — if only we have time. But the film changes key details, including the titular scene, to make the story about, well, romantic love. Which is a fine and dandy theme for countless stories but my god, not for this one!

The book gives readers the feeling that we intimately understand the nuances that underline every interaction, whereas the film flattens each character and scene, making them plain as rice cakes.

This might be the fault of filmmaking in general. It’s hard to convey nuances in film, compared to the way a very brilliant novelist can. Fantastic writers make their tricks look easy, but the fine nuance of the book is difficult to replicate without the careful first-person narration of Kathy H. After all, she’s spent her life replaying and analyzing the details she’s conveying to us in her mind, and we feel that in every single line of prose.

If There’s Any Chance You Might Read the Book, DO NOT Watch the Movie

My fear is that anyone who watches the film version of “Never Let Me Go” will have the book ruined for them. And I hate that, because it’s a very fine book, a real work of art.

So please, if you like reading excellent books, do not watch the movie or even its trailer. Just get the book and read it. After that, watch the film if you want, so you can come back here to either tell me I was right or that I’m out of my mind.