Never Let Me Go - Read The Book!

Due for release on the 11^th of February, Never Let Me Go has been one of the most hyped up films for 2011. Unfairly labelled as ‘the new Keira Knightley film’, it also stars Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield and is directed by Mark Romanek. Having been shown at various film festivals and received positive views from critics, the film looks promising.

Tags: Kiera Knightley, Never Let Me Go, Carey Mulligan, Kazuo Ishigure,

I, however, want to remind, or enlighten, the Student Punch reader that the film is adapted from a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. I am unashamedly biased in my love for this book, and so I shall endeavour in these next few paragraphs to persuade you to read it. Never Let Me Go is a film that must be seen AFTER you have read the book.

Narrated by Kathy, played by Mulligan in the film, the novel shows her reminiscing about her childhood whilst at her school, Hailsham. We follow her memories from here to about her mid-twenties, memories that centre around her relationships with the two other main characters, Ruth and Tommy. From here on in I will not explain too much of the plot, as a lot has already been done by film advertising to ruin it, notably through its description as ‘dystopian film’. Ishiguro’s novel is much more subtle in this approach, as the reader does not go in thinking that the novel will be dystopian. Suffice to say that Kathy’s memories gradually reveal a truth about Hailsham that is not wholly apparent to the reader. More importantly, this truth is not fully revealed to Kathy, Ruth or Tommy from the outset of their lives either; thus there is a revelation for the reader, a revelation for the characters within Kathy’s memories, and a revelation that Kathy produces through hindsight. This truth is harrowing and life defining for all three characters, pushing their strained relationships to the brink.

What makes Ishiguro’s novel brilliant is not simply the plot, however. As with his other novels, such as Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, the main protagonist suffers from a certain lack or an inability to see beyond their own perspective. The reader is presented with a very partial and subjective view-point, which is heightened through the bias implicit in hindsight (as the story unfolds through memory). This skewed view-point is also apparent when the protagonists unwittingly reveal something about themselves that they are unaware of or are trying to hide from themselves and thus the reader too. This inability to realise what is right in front of them is haunting. In Remains of the Day, we are presented with a Butler whose commitment to his job prevents him from realising or fully admitting to his love for the housekeeper. In Never Let Me Go, the truth that Kathy can’t full comprehend is the true nature of Hailsham. Furthermore, for Kathy, it is not so simple as a failure to realise; what touches the reader is the presentation of a mind that is not even capable of this realisation. A subtle technique by Ishiguro but one that further enforces the consequences of Hailsham on its pupils; that of an incomplete and unfulfilled life.

The plot is subtle but grand in its implications, and I’m sure the film will capture this. In my opinion, however, what makes this story so moving is Ishiguro’s narration, for it is through this narration that we see the character’s defects and thus truly connect to them. So, before you all rush off to see Keira Knightley in all her pouting glory, I implore you to read the novel first; you won’t be disappointed.

Roisin O’Brien