"Memories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly. ...

... But I don’t go along with that. The memories I value most, I don’t ever see them fading." Memories serve as the basis for Japanese-British writer Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, Never Let Me Go. The book is divided into three parts, representing distinct periods in the life of narrator Kathy H., who reflects on her recollections as she gets ready to transition to another part of her life.

Kathy attended a British boarding school called Hailsham, where she becomes closely acquainted with two students: headstrong Ruth and misfit Tommy D. There's an undercurrent of mystery: This is not an ordinary school, and the students who attend are quite special. I'm going to avoid getting into great detail about the plot because it's difficult to do so without revealing some potential spoilers. Just as the students of Hailsham are "told but not told" about what is really going on and the purpose of their lives, readers are similarly treated by the author. Things slowly unfold and are subtly revealed over time. Patience is definitely key when reading this book.


This novel has elements of science-fiction, but these aspects are not in-your-face. In fact, their world seems strangely familiar to our own. Instead, the story is a drama that poses philosophical questions, such as, "What does it mean to be human?" It can be heartbreaking -- by the last few paragraphs of the tome, I had tears in my eyes.

I first heard about this book when I visited Internet Movie Database, and one of the trailers that was featured on the homepage that day was for this story. It looked intriguing, and it got me interested in reading the book. Now that I have read the book, just judging from the trailer, it seems like a pretty accurate adaptation. However, I can appreciate film adaptations on their individual merits that capture the spirit of the book, instead of being a word-for-word representation, and I'm curious to see how the film turns out.

By the way, the poster for the film "Never Let Go" debuted earlier this week. The film itself is suppose to be released in the United States on September 15 (that's the day after my birthday):

 

(Photo from  Firstshowing.net)

"Never Let Me Go" trailer:

"Once upon a time ...

... there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering." I first read this sweet quote when I saw the wedding program of blogger Joanna Goddard of A Cup of Jo.

Months later, I came across another quote from the same book at another wedding-related post from Miss Stripes of Weddingbee:

"For her I changed pebbles into diamonds, shoes into mirrors, I changed glass into water, I gave her wings and pulled birds from her ears and in her pockets she found the feathers, I asked a pear to become a pineapple, a pineapple to become a lightbulb, a lightbulb to become a moon, and the moon to become a coin I flipped for her love, both sides were heads: I knew I couldn't lose."

With such romantic writing and vivid imagery, paired with its intriguing title, The History of Love was a book that I kept in the back of my mind as something to check out when I had time to read for fun (summer). This novel by Nicole Krauss is about a lonely, elderly man named Leo Gursky who has loved only one woman, his childhood sweetheart Alma. As a young man, he wrote a book, also called The History of Love, inspired by Alma. However, he lost his love and his book decades ago. Unknown to him, though, Leo's novel has been published in a different country, in a different language, and under a different name.

One person whose life has been touched by Leo's book is 14-year-old Alma Singer, who was named after the book's character. Her mother longs for her late husband who died years ago, while her 11-year-old brother Bird thinks he's the Messiah. Young Alma's quest to find a man for her mother to love turns into a larger adventure to find out more about her namesake.

Each chapter shifts to a different narrator, mostly between Leo and Alma, and there are also chapters with third-person narration that provide the history of Leo's book. Readers also receive snippets of Leo's book throughout the novel, so it's like reading a story within a story. The characters have quirky, unique voices, and sometimes what they say makes you laugh, while other times you just feel for them.

At 252 pages, it's a fast read, but there are a lot of details packed into those pages. Plus with the different narrators and the non-linear storytelling, I became confused sometimes. However, I definitely want to re-read this book, taking my time this time, to really appreciate the writing and understand some parts of the story better. Plus, there were a few twists and turns, some of which I saw coming and some I didn't, so that's another reason to read it again.

Apparently, there's suppose to be a film adaptation of this novel. Director Alfonso Cuarón had bought the rights to it years ago. I wonder who will portray the characters, and I wonder how the film will turn out.