“We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all.”
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is one of the most acclaimed pieces of literary fiction over the past two decades. Part dystopian fiction, part heartbreaking romance, it is a story that follows three students as they grow up together and gradually discover the tragic fate that is expected of them. Never Let Me Go explores constructing our own identity, building and maintaining relationships and the nostalgia that comes from growing up and looking back. It is also a book that allows readers to reflect on the inevitability of time passing, experiencing loss and ultimately the balance between individual goals and society’s expectations. It is a poignant, thought-provoking and beautiful read. If you loved Kathy, Ruth and Tommy’s journey and looking for more stories similar to it, join us today at What We Reading for the best books like Never Let Me Go!
Klara And The Sun – Kazuo Ishiguro
Kicking off our list of books like Never Let Me Go is another one of Kazuo Ishiguro’s best novels, Klara and the Sun. From her place in the store, Klara, an Aritifical Friend with impeccable observational skills, ponders on the behaviours of those who come in to browse, and those who pass by outside. She remains hopeful that soon a customer may choose her. But, when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is soon taught not to believe too much in the promises of humans.
In Klara and the Sun, Ishiguro explores our rapidly changing technological landscape and, through the observations of an unforgettable narrator, attempts to answer the question: ‘What does it mean to love?’
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid’s Tale #1) – Margaret Atwood
Another timeless dystopia book with similar themes to Never Let Me Go, Margaret Atwood introduces readers to Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale. Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. Offred is allowed to leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day and must lie on her back once a month and pray that he makes her pregnant. Because, in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable.
But Offred can still remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke. When she played with and protected her daughter. Had her own job, money and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now. Funny, shocking and horrifyingly timely, The Handmaid’s Tale is a must-read for any fans of Kazuo Ishiguro.
Swing Time – Zadie Smith
In her book, Swing Time, Zadie Smith uses a narrator reflecting on their youth and early years. Similar to Never Let Me Go, the story jumps forward and back in time and the dynamics are very reminiscent of Kathy and Ruth in Ishiguro’s story. In Swing Time, two brown girls both dream of becoming dancers. But, only one of them – Tracey – has the talent for it. The other has their own ideas about timing, rhythm, black music and black bodies.
The two girls share a close, albeit complex, childhood friendship that suddenly ends abruptly in their early twenties. Though, whilst it is never revisited, it’s a friendship that is never truly forgotten either.
Conversations With Friends – Sally Rooney
Another one of the best books like Never Let Me Go for complex friendships and an overwhelming nostalgic feel, Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends is the story of Frances and Bobbi. The two were lovers during school and now perform spoken-word poetry together in Dublin. There, they encounter a journalist named Melissa. Drawn to the older woman’s sophisticated style and success, they are pulled into Melissa’s orbit and eventually introduced to her husband, Nick.
Frances and Nick’s harmless flirting soon gives way to a strange intimacy that neither of them expects. As she attempts to keep her life in check, her relationships with Nick, her difficult father and even Bobbi become more and more strained. Delivered with intelligence and precision, Conversations with Friends follows Ishiguro’s work in demonstrating both the pleasures and pains of youth.
Check Out The Best Books Like Conversations With Friends
The Memory Police – Yōko Ogawa
On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing. First are hats, then ribbons, birds, roses and then things that are even more serious. Nevertheless, the majority of the island inhabitants remain oblivious to these changes. Those who do have the ability to recall these lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, a force that is committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten.
When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as an author discovers that her editor is in the crosshairs of the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss ensnare them, they cling to her writing as their last means of preserving the past. With loss and memory being some of the key themes of Never Let Me Go, Yōko Ogawa’s The Memory Police is the perfect follow-up book for anyone interested in more of the same.
The Other Valley – Scott Alexander Howard
Sixteen-year-old Odile is an awkward, shy girl hoping for a seat on the Conseil. If she earns that position, she’ll decide who may cross her town’s heavily guarded borders. On the other side, it’s the same valley, the same town. Except, to the east, the town is twenty years ahead in time. To the west, it’s twenty years behind.
When Odile recognises two visitors she was never meant to see, she realises that the parents of her friend Edme have been taken across the border from the future to see their son whilst he is still alive. Edme, who is brilliant, funny and the only person to truly see Odile as she is, is about to die. Sworn to secrecy to keep the timeline intact, Odile finds herself as the top candidate for the Conseil seat. At the same time, she finds herself increasingly pulled closer to the doomed boy at the same time, putting her entire future at risk in Scott Alexander Howard’s 2024 sci-fi book, The Other Valley.
Flowers For Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Charlie Gordon is about to embark on an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually low IQ, he has been selected as the perfect candidate for an experimental surgery that researchers believe will increase his intelligence. It’s a procedure that has already been performed successfully on a lab mouse named Algernon.
As the treatment takes effect, Charlie’s intelligence expands until it eclipses even the doctors who masterminded it. However, what appears to be a scientific breakthrough for the ages is soon thrown into jeopardy when Algernon suddenly starts to deteriorate. Will the same happen to Charlie? If you enjoyed the ethics of cloning and organ donations in Never Let Me Go, Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon makes for a fitting similar story.
Check Out The Best Books Like Flowers For Algernon
The Age Of Miracles – Karen Thompson Walker
On an ordinary Saturday in a Californian suburb, Julia wakes up one morning to discover that something extraordinary has happened to the rotation of the Earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer; gravity is affected, and the birds, tides, human behaviour and cosmic rhythms are totally thrown awry.
In a new world filled with danger and loss, Julia also finds herself confronted with surprising developments within herself. Divisions between her parents begin to stretch, her friends begin to exhibit strange behaviours, and she experiences the vulnerability of a first love and is forced to reckon with a growing sense of isolation. Like Never Let Me Go, Karen Thompson Walker’s The Age of Miracles is a light sci-fi story that has all the poignancy and sadness of a classic coming-of-age story.
Toward Eternity – Anton Hur
Another one of the best books like Never Let Me Go that explores what it means to be human in an age where technology is catching up with biology, Toward Eternity is a 2024 science fiction story by Anton Hur. In a near-future world, a new therapy is quickly making cancers a thing of the past. The body’s cells are being replaced with nanites. Not only do these android cells cure the afflicted, but they leave them virtually immortal.
At the same time, literary researcher Yonghun teaches an AI how to understand poetry, creating a living, thinking machine he names Panit. When Dr. Beeko, who holds the patent to the nano-therapy technology, learns of Panit, he transfers its consciousness into an android body. As Yonghun, Panit and other nano-humans thrive, their development soon leads them to a crossroads and a choice where the consequences are guaranteed to be existential.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
