Throwback Thursday (8/16) – Never Let Me Go

Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Let me just start by saying this book is not for everyone. It’s tremendously sad. Sad to the point that another blogger I was discussing it with recently (well, the movie version, but still the same story) said she finished with a broken heart wondering, “what’s the point?” And I could totally see how you could come away from this book with that feeling. That said, I think if you go into the book with the right expectations, and you yourself have the “right” personality (for this book, not for…you know…life), it’s strangely beautiful. It’s one of those stories you can’t stop thinking about for a long time afterward.

I first read this book for a bit of a roundabout reason. I had seen the movie The Social Network, and I was totally captivated with Andrew Garfield’s performance. “What else has this kid been in?” I asked myself, and looked him up on IMDb. Lo and behold, he’d been in some artsy movie called Never Let Me Go that was based on a book. “I shall read this book, and then see the movie!” I proclaimed.

Because, as we all know, you always read the book first.

So I did. And then I saw the movie. And they are both haunting and sad and…well…strangely beautiful. (As a side note, while I think the movie is fabulously acted, I don’t think it really holds its own narrative-wise. So I would definitely recommend reading the book before seeing the movie).

Never Let Me Go is the quietest sci-fi dystopian you’ll ever read. So quiet, in fact, you may not notice that you’re reading sci-fi dystopian, because it disguises itself quite effectively as serious contemporary(ish) British literature. It is the story of three friends, Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth, who grow up together in the boarding school of Hailsham. Kathy carries a torch for Tommy from the time they are very young, but it is Tommy and Ruth that pair off through their teen years.

However, after leaving Hailsham and drifting apart, Kathy looks back on her time with Tommy and Ruth and wonders. For students of Hailsham are created for a specific purpose, and once they fulfill that purpose, their lives are complete. As the time for the three friends’ completion grows near, they reunite and examine whether there has been meaning in what they went through, or if they have any reason to hope for the future.

As I said earlier, this book is not for everyone. It’s a dystopian where it never occurs to any of the characters to try to overthrow the system. You want them to fight back, and they don’t, and you get your heart stomped on. Brutally. (I’m doing a great job of selling this book, aren’t I?)

But if you like quiet, difficult, poignant stories with strongly developed characters, this may be one to try. If nothing else, it’ll stick with you for a long time after you finish. And that in itself, even if you hate it, is saying something.

Also, if you like the book and want to see it interpreted visually, I think the movie works well as a companion to it. Here’s the trailer.

Also, I posted this in my most recent Top Ten Tuesday, but I absolutely adore this fan-made video. Perfectly captures the gutting emotion from the movie.

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!