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A review by nothingforpomegranted
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I love Kazuo Ishiguro and appreciate his writing deeply, which I think prompts me to spend more time considering what I liked about this novel. Were it written by a different author, I’m not sure I would have picked up on all of the beauty, focusing more on the strange adventure and the elements of the plot that seemed to have been unresolved by the end.
Axl and Beatrice are an elderly couple living in a room in a community where they have been denied even a candle, though they cannot remember why. The novel is quiet and gentle as Axl and Beatrice decide that the time has arrived for them to visit their grown son in the neighboring village. In a post-Arthurian landscape with a mythic mist that obfuscates memories, Axl and Beatrice set off on their way, reminding each other of their love, their presence, and the purpose of their journey. Along the way, they encounter a series of bizarre characters who add to the sense of mystery and collective loss that pervades the novel.
Sir Gawain is a devoted knight of Arthur who has a history with Axl, who was once a knight himself, and who has been sworn to protect the dragon whose breath creates the mist . Wistan is a Saxon warrior, raised among Britons, who has entered a village where Axl and Beatrice have come to rest and where Edwin, a young boy, has been carried off by ogres. Wistan saves Edwin, to the unexpected rage of the community, who are terrified by Edwin’s wound. The five characters continue on their journey and come to seek and kill the dragon.
The novel ends with a final journey across a river that Beatrice and Axl are forced to undergo separately. I was surprised by the end of the book, which seemed to come abruptly after such a quiet, slow-paced novel. I am left with questions about Axl and his Arthurian history, about Beatrice and her ailments, about their history and romance and livelihood, about their son and his death, and especially about the giant, whom we never encounter explicitly in the novel, despite the wide variety of other mythical creatures.
Axl and Beatrice are an elderly couple living in a room in a community where they have been denied even a candle, though they cannot remember why. The novel is quiet and gentle as Axl and Beatrice decide that the time has arrived for them to visit their grown son in the neighboring village. In a post-Arthurian landscape with a mythic mist that obfuscates memories, Axl and Beatrice set off on their way, reminding each other of their love, their presence, and the purpose of their journey. Along the way, they encounter a series of bizarre characters who add to the sense of mystery and collective loss that pervades the novel.
Sir Gawain is a devoted knight of Arthur
The novel ends with a final journey across a river that Beatrice and Axl are forced to undergo separately. I was surprised by the end of the book, which seemed to come abruptly after such a quiet, slow-paced novel. I am left with questions about Axl and his Arthurian history, about Beatrice and her ailments, about their history and romance and livelihood, about their son and his death, and especially about the giant, whom we never encounter explicitly in the novel, despite the wide variety of other mythical creatures.