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/lit/ - Literature

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File: 30 KB, 308x475, Never Let Me Go.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
3766166 No.3766166 [Reply] [Original]

I read this a few weeks ago and was very unimpressed. It seemed much too long even though it was only 300 pages or so and, despite all the praise about how he slowly lets you know about the world and how terribly haunting it all is, I didn't feel like I ever saw too much that wasn't obvious from the get-go or at least some trivial pondering of such things.

Did I miss something great or is this just over-hyped? This was my second Booker winner in a row and I disliked both (the other being Disgrace); are most of the Booker selections bad?

How about Ishiguro's other stuff? I've heard a lot of good things about The Remains of the Day and The Unconsoled, but I'm not very motivated to try them after this.

>> No.3766176

Well, I can relate about Disgrace. I mean I thought it was competent, but I wasn`t bowled over or anything. I`ve only seen the film of The Remains of the Day. It was heartbreaking. Anthony Hopkins gives a really great performance.

>> No.3766180

>>3766176
Well it's encouraging that you liked the movie, but I'll never go out of my way to see it until I've read the book.

I had a thread a week or two ago about Disgrace and there wasn't a single person defending it, but several people recommended Coetzee's other work.

This is perhaps why the recent Booker prize winners never really get discussed here.

>> No.3766649

>>3766166
I'm with you. It was good enough, I guess, but never really left much of an impression on me.

As for recent Bookers, though, I think Wolf Hall won it and that was good shit.

>> No.3766660

>>3766649
I've been interested in trying Mantel but I never see anybody discuss her, or historical fiction in general. As someone who enjoys history but doesn't really read historical fiction, how might it stack up to more traditional stuff?

>> No.3766661

Same OP. The premise was really interesting, but I just couldn't get into it. It was really slow and had lots of trivial things

I haven't seen the movie but it looks more interesting.

>> No.3766679

>>3766660
I hadn't read anything historical for many many years, but Wolf Hall grabbed me. It's very immediate and visceral- not at all how I imagined historical lit.

>> No.3766686

>>3766649
...having said this, I did get the feeling that Never Let Me Go was maybe 2subtle4me. It's very understated.

>> No.3766693

OP again. I just listened to Ishiguro on Bookworm from when this came out. He was talking all about all of the subtle things he was doing in the book, which came off as extremely pretentious considering how ineffective it seems to be to most of us, but it reinforces the feeling that there might be something there that I've disregarded.

Has anyone read his other stuff?

>> No.3766811
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3766811

>>3766693
I really liked the subtle stuff in Never Let Me Go, but I like atmosphere and subtle things, so it was right up my alley. I knew the gimmick of the "big reveal" but I thought Ishiguro just let the book unfold or blossom, and it seemed just perfect.

I've also read A Pale View of the Hills, and liked that. It had a different tone and was relatively short, but had some of that same "What's really going on?" factor as NLMG. I liked it, but not as much.

I started to read The Unconsoled but then the person on the plane next to me said something about the ending that turned me off, and quit reading it. I also started When We Were Orphans, but it never stuck and also landed on my pile of abandoned books. (Though, to be fair, Ishiguro even says that one is not his best.)

>> No.3766830

>>3766811
I have a copy of A Pale View of the Hills lying around, but if it's similar in execution to Never Let Me Go I think I'll give it a pass for now.

>> No.3766848

Personally, I think Ishiguro's great (having read everything he has written). You've also somewhat spoiled yourself by seeing the movie and knowing the story - of course your'e going to notice things and think it's unsubtle with that sort of foreknowledge.

Then again, I don't even think NLMG is about shocks; it's not an "OMG twist!" kind of book. It's about the deeply melancholy air that permeates the whole book, the gradual build-up towards reveals that we're sort of aware and the dramatic irony that induces. I don't think NLMG is too literary a novel either, just a very smart genre read, so I wouldn't worry if you think it's not highfalutin enough.

For me, NLMG and The Unconsoled are his best books (ROTD is technically brilliant but left me somewhat cold). I don't know what >>3766811 got told about the ending that put him off, because I think it's a great ending after what has come before.

Ishiguro's very consistent with the exception of a couple of the stories in Nocturnes and the ending to WWWO, which spoilt an otherwise good book.

>> No.3766857

>>3766848
>You've also somewhat spoiled yourself by seeing the movie and knowing the story
I read it before the movie came out, but I spoiled myself- it felt pretty much impossible to avoid, because as soon as you know anything about the book at all you know what it's about.

>> No.3766861

>>3766848
In case I was too vague, I'm the OP and I haven't seen any movies based on Ishiguro's books. I just didn't think Never Let Me Go was overly subtle. Your comment about dramatic irony makes a bit of sense, though; I hadn't thought much about that angle.

>> No.3766863

>>3766861
>>3766848
Looks like you were replying to a specific post. I apologize.

>> No.3766936

NLMG: Too unbelievable story of humans waiting to be killed.