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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
The first third was deliciously creepy, but it didn't end up paying off or knocking my socks off. I read reviews that compared it to Beowulf, King Lear, Robinson Crusoe… none of which I’ve read. Another big shrug of a reading experience.
Axl and Beatrice emerge from their burrow to seek out their son. Along the way, they meet Sir Gawain, Wistan, a bitten boy, and an old dragon named Querig. The dragon breathes a mist that spreads through the land and causes forgetfulness. That the book is peopled by the memory challenged may be its primary drawback. The start is slow, and I often wondered why Beatrice and Axl wanted to find their son when they didn't even know where he was (definitely not the next village) or why he left.
I suppose this is an allegory, but its message seems as hazy as Querig's fog or as deceitful as the boatman narrator. Is it about the collective memory of evil? The collective responsibility of evil? The individuality of memory? Vengeance and memory? The inevitability and isolation of death? I don't know.
I would guess this is not Ishiguro's best book.
I suppose this is an allegory, but its message seems as hazy as Querig's fog or as deceitful as the boatman narrator. Is it about the collective memory of evil? The collective responsibility of evil? The individuality of memory? Vengeance and memory? The inevitability and isolation of death? I don't know.
I would guess this is not Ishiguro's best book.
the last page kinda got me thinking but at what cost
Oh man. I did not know what to say about this book. But then I read Emily May’s review and could not agree more to everything she wrote. Yes, the book was boring: not much happened. Or, actually, there seemed to happen something: arguments, fights, deaths... still, everything happened at a veeery slow pace. My problem was that I did not find anyone or anything from the book which would have touched me, intrigued me or moved me somehow. For me it was just a readthrough experience and the end made no difference.
However, the language was beautiful. Somehow I could visualize the world where this story happened. Still, I felt like I was reading a cheap copy of The Lord of The Rings. The Buried Giant worked well as a sleeping aid to me. Three stars may be a bit too many: 2 and a half would have been closer to what I felt.
This was the second book from Ishiguro that I read. Never let me go was the first one and to me it worked better but was not brilliant either. After all the glorification around Ishiguro as a writer, I am now extremely disappointed. I wonder if I dare to try one more book from him?
However, the language was beautiful. Somehow I could visualize the world where this story happened. Still, I felt like I was reading a cheap copy of The Lord of The Rings. The Buried Giant worked well as a sleeping aid to me. Three stars may be a bit too many: 2 and a half would have been closer to what I felt.
This was the second book from Ishiguro that I read. Never let me go was the first one and to me it worked better but was not brilliant either. After all the glorification around Ishiguro as a writer, I am now extremely disappointed. I wonder if I dare to try one more book from him?
Sul finale ho sbottato un “are you fucking kidding me” che riassume perfettamente lo sgomento del tempo perso dietro a queste pagine. Fingerò che The Buried Giant non sia mai stato scritto e quando ripenserò alla produzione di Ishiguro dimenticherò felicemente questo scivolone. Altro che nebbia magica e draghi.
Now I’ve read it twice and written an essay about it. Bewes transformed this one for me less simple than I thought!!!
It was too slow, and I couldn't get invested in the plot or characters