Kazuo Ishiguro addresses the question he's been asked for 20 years about Never Let Me Go: why don't the characters rebel or escape from their dystopian fate?
His answer is profound. While rebellion narratives dominate books and films, real human history tells a different story:
"What fascinated me was the extent to which, in the world outside of books and films, people usually don't rebel. They don't protest. Most often, they accept the hand they've been dealt and try to make the best of it."
He lists examples: terrible marriages, awful jobs, child labor, slavery, wars people didn't understand. These aren't exceptions—they're the historical norm.
The deepest insight comes when he explains why people don't rebel:
"Sometimes, if that's all you know—if that's the world you've grown up in—you cannot even see the boundaries you would need to run past. You cannot see what you have to rebel against. Instead, people often try, sometimes heroically, to find love, friendship, or something meaningful and decent within the horrific fate they've been given."
This reframes the book entirely. It's not about a dystopian society—it's about the human condition. The characters aren't passive or weak; they're doing what humans have always done: finding meaning and connection within the constraints they're given, especially when those constraints are invisible.
It's a more uncomfortable and honest portrayal than rebellion narratives, which might explain why it "haunts people" 20 years later.