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absbia777's review against another edition
1.0
Did I miss something here? I just don't understand this book. And it's certainly not the author's doing. I loved Never Let Me Go and enjoyed The Remains of the Day fairly well. Maybe Kazuo Ishiguro is too deep for fantasy. Was there some allegorical thing going on here that went over my head? I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one confused based on my friends' reviews. Well, can't complain. It's been a while since I've read a one-star book so I guess I was due for another soon.
blainewajdowiczblinked's review against another edition
5.0
Breathtakingly beautiful. Full of twists and turns
emp93's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
omcruz's review against another edition
4.0
beautiful--i read the first few pages aloud... but so sad and dark, overall...very different work from him. i'm interested to read others' views of the piece.
valeryalta's review against another edition
3.0
My husband got me this for Christmas, and I enjoyed Never Let Me Go so much that I was eager to start reading. But from page 1, it's strange and sluggish.
The prose is oddly, simplistically formal. Formal almost feels like the wrong word, because it's not grandiose or elegant. It's stiff, monosyllabic, bleak, repetitive. Formal like a legal document, not formal like a black tie gala invitation. It's as if Ishiguro was trying to capture the otherworldly cadence and vocabulary of an epic fantasy novel but fell somewhere into the pages of a D&D manual.
The pacing is exasperating. Most of the narrative is internal meandering, and then when it seems like real action is finally about to get underway, there are endless paragraphs of dithering over half-forgotten intentions and uninterpretable emotions about the situation at hand.
If you stick with it, you get an utterly anti-climactic final battle and a small mixed handful of interesting revelations and loose ends, culminating in a "fade to white" sort of non-ending that leaves the ultimate disposition of Axl and Beatrice in frustratingly perfect limbo.
Do not entirely regret reading. Would not read again.
The prose is oddly, simplistically formal. Formal almost feels like the wrong word, because it's not grandiose or elegant. It's stiff, monosyllabic, bleak, repetitive. Formal like a legal document, not formal like a black tie gala invitation. It's as if Ishiguro was trying to capture the otherworldly cadence and vocabulary of an epic fantasy novel but fell somewhere into the pages of a D&D manual.
The pacing is exasperating. Most of the narrative is internal meandering, and then when it seems like real action is finally about to get underway, there are endless paragraphs of dithering over half-forgotten intentions and uninterpretable emotions about the situation at hand.
If you stick with it, you get an utterly anti-climactic final battle and a small mixed handful of interesting revelations and loose ends, culminating in a "fade to white" sort of non-ending that leaves the ultimate disposition of Axl and Beatrice in frustratingly perfect limbo.
Do not entirely regret reading. Would not read again.
sleepymushrooms's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
krismcd59's review against another edition
3.0
It’s not a good sign when you find yourself thinking halfway through a novel, “I need to finish it to figure out what the point of all this is.” There is no question that Ishiguro is a master at evoking memory and emotion with minimal but vivid details. In this dreamlike narrative, he’s clearly paying homage to the images and rhythms of medieval epics like Beowulf and Le Morte Arthur. However, this novel is likely to frustrate almost everyone - for lovers of historical fiction, the style is too simple and repetitive. For lovers of fantasy, the otherworldly details are doled out in an annoyingly vague pastiche. For readers who want insights into the human condition, the confusion and paralysis of the characters keeps us at too great a distance to really care what is happening. Ultimately, it’s an allegory, that most misunderstood of medieval genres, and carefully crafted, but Ishiguro seems to be counting on a readership not already familiar with the well-worn path he treads. I appreciate and admire what he is attempting here, but really believe that he doesn’t do anything in this novel that [a:Alan Garner|47991|Alan Garner|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1363273417p2/47991.jpg] has not done many times already, and much more powerfully.
veronica_watson's review against another edition
4.0
The only other Ishiguro novel I have read is An Artist of a Floating World which I really enjoyed. The Buried Giant was a similar reflection on old age, war, and memory but set in a vague post-Arthurian Britain. I can see why it was not what some readers were hoping for. Fantasy is a bit of a different genre for Ishiguro, yet this novel didn't feel particular at home in that genre largely because he doesn't rely on the kind of world building one expects to see in "fantasy". However, after going in with low expectations it turned out to be a good read.
benleon97's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5