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A review by alexisreading23
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
5.0
The Romans have long since departed a quasi-mythical Britain where Britons and Saxons live in relative harmony and King Arthur remains in living memory. An elderly couple embark on a journey to find their son. A mysterious mist has obscured the memories of all on this isle, and the couple, alongside several other characters, embark on their separate journeys to uncover the source of this mist and reveal the 'buried giant' of the past, and their memories.
This is my second novel of Ishiguro's, the first being The Remains of the Day, and what strikes me is his extremely deft handling of narrative voice. Each character in this was distinct and colourful, and the novel itself exuded the same sense of fogginess and flickering chronology that afflicts the characters themselves who struggle to differentiate memory from dream or imagining. I felt very immersed in the world of circa sixth-century Britain which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I loved the novels' quiet exploration of some very difficult questions, the most important and confronting one of all: is it better to uncover and confront the past, whatever ugly things it might reveal, or to turn away from it in the name of peaceful ignorance? One choice allows the injustice and hurt of the past to be buried for the sake of a present, tenuous peace, but the other demands an awakening that dissolves such fragile and false harmony. Each character is compelled towards their own actions based on this murky past, and must individually decide how to confront the conflict within themselves and their society.
I truly loved this book. This is an era I am particularly interested by and I loved the elements of mythology and fantasy within the novel. The Buried Giant was meditative, quiet, engaging, and thought-provoking. My first five-star in a good while!
This is my second novel of Ishiguro's, the first being The Remains of the Day, and what strikes me is his extremely deft handling of narrative voice. Each character in this was distinct and colourful, and the novel itself exuded the same sense of fogginess and flickering chronology that afflicts the characters themselves who struggle to differentiate memory from dream or imagining. I felt very immersed in the world of circa sixth-century Britain which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I loved the novels' quiet exploration of some very difficult questions, the most important and confronting one of all: is it better to uncover and confront the past, whatever ugly things it might reveal, or to turn away from it in the name of peaceful ignorance? One choice allows the injustice and hurt of the past to be buried for the sake of a present, tenuous peace, but the other demands an awakening that dissolves such fragile and false harmony. Each character is compelled towards their own actions based on this murky past, and must individually decide how to confront the conflict within themselves and their society.
I truly loved this book. This is an era I am particularly interested by and I loved the elements of mythology and fantasy within the novel. The Buried Giant was meditative, quiet, engaging, and thought-provoking. My first five-star in a good while!