A review by neonskylite
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

Definitely the weakest of Ishiguro's novels which I think the lack of a strong narrator and switching between perspectives is mainly to blame - Ishiguro shines when he is entirely in one character's mind and gets to unwrap the layers. Without it, I feel like I barely even know these characters. Perhaps this is a point about how without memory you cannot cultivate a rich inner mind most Ishiguro protagonists have, like if Axl and Beatrice had to write an essay without knowing any words. I don't think this was the intention though.

Yes I know the boatman is the narrator but he doesn't count except for some authorial intrusions and clearly speaking as narrator only at the final chapter

Only really started enjoying this in Part III - Gawain's First Reverie was literally so beautiful to me despite how dark the subject matter is (which, yet again, I think is because Ishiguro remembers that he's meant to be a first person writer and shows how Gawain is grappling with his sins on a depth that none of the other four in the main party receive) to the point that I looped it to fall asleep to for two nights