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A review by youraveragedave
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This story is about memory, love, war, and revenge. Set in a post-Roman, Arthurian Britain a mist has settled across the land causing people to forget the past. Britons live next to Saxons in an uneasy tension.
The main couple we follow is an adorable old couple, Axl and Beatrice, whom he always calls Princess, so cute. The go on a quest to find their list son and to hopefully regain their memories. They meet a Saxon warrior raised by Britons, and a Saxon boy being pursued by the church. There is a kind of channeling of the Canterbury Tales going on here.
Ishiguro has a lot to say about memory in this book. It can hold us together or drive us apart. The mist, a magic from the dragon thanks to Merlin, Arthur, and Sir Gawain, did across the land to help the people love in peace following the atrocities of war and to prevent revenge. It is also there for individuals, the old couple may not have been as perfect a pair as they believe they are in their old age. The scenes with the ferry man in at the end are a great example of this. The ambiguity at the end was a great choice for this concept.
The main couple we follow is an adorable old couple, Axl and Beatrice, whom he always calls Princess, so cute. The go on a quest to find their list son and to hopefully regain their memories. They meet a Saxon warrior raised by Britons, and a Saxon boy being pursued by the church. There is a kind of channeling of the Canterbury Tales going on here.
Ishiguro has a lot to say about memory in this book. It can hold us together or drive us apart. The mist, a magic from the dragon thanks to Merlin, Arthur, and Sir Gawain, did across the land to help the people love in peace following the atrocities of war and to prevent revenge. It is also there for individuals, the old couple may not have been as perfect a pair as they believe they are in their old age. The scenes with the ferry man in at the end are a great example of this. The ambiguity at the end was a great choice for this concept.