Reviews

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

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anteus7's review against another edition

4.0

It's funny when one picks up a book without knowing anything about it and reads it based on nothing more than who the author is and someone else's recommendation. This happened for me with The Buried Giant. I had no idea that this was a book about post-Arthur Britain (and it took until Sir Gawain showed up for me to twig to that--sharp, I am).

It is a book about memory, loss, and healing, though, and those things made sense to me without the extra context.

This is a beautifully written book, and one which is slow to develop. In this case, I liked how slowly things became clear. It was an extended metaphor of the mists covering the land in the story, and their ability to obscure not only what characters could see around themselves, but their own memories as well.

There is a lot more to this book than that, but this about covers why I was intrigued and the kind of fun I had not knowing anything about the story before reading it. I felt like one of the characters trapped in the mist, not able to see through it.

alreadyemily's review against another edition

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4.0

An unusual, thought-provoking, and subtle tale. I was (naively) completely unprepared for the ending, and I will be thinking on it for some days to come.

_tamara_'s review against another edition

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2.0

Halle-frikin'-lujah Date started: September 6, 2023 Date finished: January 31, 2024 The story is set in England after the death of King Arthur, where Britons and Saxons live in relative peace. It follows an old Briton couple setting out to visit their son, all the while fighting something they call the "mist" - a curious ailment that prevents anyone on the island from having long term memories, though the memory loss seems selective. On the way they meet lots of people who help them understand the mist and its origins, they start remembering scenes from their life together, and slowly the reader gets a picture of what happened after Arthur died. I must be honest, I didn't really enjoy reading this book. While the setting was interesting, the pace was slow and I couldn't really get into the story for more than a few pages at a time. I powered through the last few chapters simply because I was tired of feeling guilt for starting any new book while this one sits on the shelf unfinished. My rating is purely for my enjoyment of the book, it has nothing to do with the quality of the work.

jwab's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.0

nanometers's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Mysterious following of a couple journey through good and bad adventure.

nerdkitten's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

annamaryd365's review against another edition

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2.0

This was not the worst book I've ever read but it was annoying which is a sin I don't easily forgive. Like both other Ishiguro books I've read before (Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go), there's lots of interesting stuff in there but the actual execution is weak at best. The main issue I had with this book was the dialogue. It was so painfully unnatural and made it very hard to connect to any of the characters. Also, the amount the Axl calls his adult wife "princess" is actually criminal. Once or twice maybe would have been fine but literally every other line of dialogue is truly insane.

There were parts of this book that I liked so perhaps giving it two stars is petty but truly nothing in this book made up for how annoyed I was reading it. I think I can solidly say that Ishiguro is really just not for me. If he works for you that's great but if I can avoid it, I will definitely not be picking up his books in the future.