2016 – “The Buried Giant” by Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro is an interesting author in that his books are all very different. The Remains of the Day is a modern classic although I find it a harrowing read as it examines the lost potential in the life of someone who served unworthy people. I didn’t particularly enjoy When we are Orphans which is a sort of detective story set in China between the wars but I loved Never Let me Go which is a futuristic story about a group of people with no future.

The Buried Giant is another type of story and it resembles a folk tale or even a fairy story. It’s set in Britain after the Romans have departed. The land is inhabited by Britons and Saxons who live mostly in peace. There are also strange and frightening creatures and even a dragon.

Axl and Beatrice live in a small community. They are an older couple and not highly regarded by their fellow inhabitants who won’t let them have a light in their room at night. They are beginning to realise that their community has no long term memory. They struggle to remember what has happened in the past but are sure that they have a son, although they don’t know where exactly he lives. The couple set out to find their son and the book follows their quest.

As they travel they come across a boatman who guides people to an eternity in a pleasant land but rarely allows couples to spend their lives together unless they have perfect love. They spend time in a village which sends fighters to deal with a monster who is threatening them but which then turns on a child who is bitten and expels him. They end up in a castle with a knight who fought with Arthur and a man who wants to kill a dragon. As the journey progresses Axl becomes aware of his past and also what the memory loss is hiding from the people. The book is told by an omniscient narrator who at times addresses the reader directly.

This is actually a story about conflict and how different communities live in peace after conflict. You become aware, as the reader, that the memory loss might be providing a way for there to be peace because atrocities and division are hidden. The book considers how much it is necessary to know the truth.

Some of this book really spoke to me. I liked the affection between the elderly couple and Beatrice’s fumbling attempts to do the right thing. I found the ending sad but powerful. I also thought that the message of the book was interesting but because at times it is only hinted at I am not sure I completely understood what the author was trying to say. I think that the fable style of the story got in the way of the message for me in places and I might have preferred it had the author been more obvious in his message. Just because I didn’t entirely get this book doesn’t mean that others would not enjoy it but the style didn’t suit me.