The Buried Giant (Vintage International)

The tricky thing with fantasy is that it tends to be a bit of a hit or a miss for most. There is just a lot of risk in spinning a tale of wild adventure and in spite of what Literature "experts" would have us believe, there really is not a single winning formula to tell the "hero's tale." Sometimes fantasy is too complicated or extravagant, others it is convoluted and dull, but sometimes a story fails to entertain simply because it lacks a certain magic or thrill. Kazuo Ishiguro's THE BURRIED GIANT fell into the third category for me. It came recommended to me by a fellow indie author (the book itself is not indie) and the premise, along with this gentleman's review of it intrigued me. It is a relatively charming tale starring a lovely elderly couple who are on a quest to reunite with their son whom they have not seen in many years. Along the way they will meet a brave warrior, an old knight of King Arthur's court, and a cursed boy. It's a tale on as epic a scale as one could ask for but for all its charming qualities, there are an equal number of things that made this a rather dull novel to trudge through.This is a story that I really wanted to like and at times I truly did enjoy it, but in the end, the pacing was too casual, the intensity too nonexistent, and the ending far too unsatisfactory for me to rate it any higher than I have. With all of this said, I will be entirely candid in saying that this is one of my more subjective reviews to date.CHARACTERSFortunately, this review can start off on a genuinely positive note. If there is any one part of this novel that shines, it is definitely in Ishiguro's ability to craft characters that are genuinely endearing to readers. Axl and Beatrice are the stars of this adventure. They're a simple elderly couple who live in a simple little Britain town and have a simple life within their village. The story spends a good long while developing their relationship together in this town and if there is one thing this story is good at, it is showing us the love that exists between these two characters.While here we learn of a magical mist which shrouds the land and seems to make people forgetful of things that they really ought to remember. The main example of this is when people go missing in town and people forget about them, Axl and Beatrice have taken notice of this and have noted that there are certain parts of their own memory that are less than complete. One such memory is that of their son. They remember having him and they seem to know where he is, but can't recall why he is not with them presently. Eventually, they decide that they want to embark on an adventure to reunite with their son who lives in another village. It is a decently long trip for a couple of their age, but not one that they feel they can't do. So they pack up and head off, and it is then that the adventure truly begins.The rest of the novel sort of falls into a pattern of arriving at a new location, spending some time with the people there, and then moving on to the next place. As one might expect, this leads to new characters joining in on the adventure and all of these personalities are lovely as well. There is a knight of King Arthur's round table who patrols the lands on his trusty steed and behaves as though he is still on his appointed mission from the king. There is a Saxon warrior trained by the Britains who has motives and ambitions which are not always immediately obvious and makes him by far the most interesting character in the cast. Then there is a boy, marked by a terrible wound from a beast and rejected by his home village for fear that he might turn into a beast himself. These characters' paths intersect for large portions in the story, but there are also points where the story follows them separately which does help keep the perspective a little fresher than it would be otherwise. There are other minor characters that also make appearances for short bits of time, but these are rarely individuals who are relevant for longer than the story moments which they appear in. Overall, each of the main characters just feels very unique, charmingly developed, and endearingly authentic to the point where I felt as though I really knew them as well as I might know a dear friend.WORLD/SETTINGThe world itself is an interesting place. There are all manners of beasts like ogres, pixies, and dragons roaming about. There are strange folk and mysterious forces which help build a sense of mystical intrigue. And then there is the devilish mist which clouds the minds of even the sharpest individuals. Then there is the great dragon which there is much ado about as there often is in a fantasy world. If all of this sounds like the makings of an exciting tale, you wouldn't be wrong, but this novel also unfortunately does a good job of keeping all of this really interesting stuff hidden from readers. There is an awful lot of babbling about beasts and magic and such but by the time anything mystical was actually shown, I was under the impression that none of it was actually real in this world. And once more magical elements did start playing a part, I legitimately questioned whether any of it was real or if these were all just mad ravings and hallucinations induced by the stresses of a long journey. The sad truth is that the more exciting fantasy elements are so underused that when they do get employed, they actually feel out of place. This makes what could have been a vibrant fantasy world feel more like a mundane one where strange things occasionally disrupt the normalcy of it all.PLOT/TONELike the world/setting, the plot also had a lot of potential for greatness. The characters have clear agendas and there are certainly plenty of strange folk met along the way or unexpected twists that the story takes, but ultimately what kills this narrative is the pacing of it all. Things in this book take their time. And when I say take their time, I am talking about turtle crossing the road slowness (not a little one, but one of those ancient snapping turtles or something that could really care less about you wanting to drive on that road). Conversations drone on and I felt like I was reading the same conversation over and over and over again at different points. A large contributor to this is the way that so many of the characters are a bit forgetful. Their minds are always in a state of confusion and it was neat to see how reality slowly unveiled itself, but these redundant conversation patterns were even used in scenes that were meant to be intense. If you think stories like LORD OF THE RINGS are bad with how much trash talking and battle speeches go on before a very brief fight, then you have seen NOTHING just yet because the pre-fight banter is excruciatingly long. Two standoffs in particular will always stick in my mind as being some of the most painful confrontations I have ever read through. Now given that this is a story primarily about old people, I did not at all expect there to be riveting or otherwise epic battle sequences, I just wanted the narrative to move along at a compelling pace, but it instead gets bogged down for pages at a time.Adding to the lackluster pacing is the ending. I don't really want to get into why this disappointed me so much or the events leading up to it, but anticlimactic is definitely one word that comes to mind, while unfulfilling is another. It's a heartfelt one for sure, but not one that had the amount of impact I was looking for, especially in terms of Axl and Beatrice's relationship. Had the ending not been as disappointing to me, I think I'd have rated this book a 3/5 (maybe even a 4/5 if it was a really good one), but ultimately this adventure was just too long and too slow to not have an ending that moved me in a profound or unexpected way. I don't think I'd say this is a BAD story, but it's also not one that I enjoyed nearly as much as I could have.CONCLUSIONAs I stated before, fantasy books are a hit or a miss no matter who you are or how carefully crafted the book might or might not be. In this instance, I did not appreciate the book in the same way that others have. I need stories to move along at a steady, but mobile pace. There are absolutely some things that this book delivered on for me, primarily in the portrayal of its characters, but it lacked the sort of intensity that a fantasy novel really needs to entertain and failed to capture its fantasy elements at least from my perspective of what fantasy ought to be. I will also note that I listened to this as an audio-book, which I found to be very well done. The gentleman narrating the tale does different voices for different characters and I felt like he really enjoyed doing the recording. That said, it did skip in more than a couple of spots which marred the otherwise stellar quality of the presentation.If you enjoy fantasy tales that are slower and more methodical in nature, then I think this book could certainly entertain. It also is of great worth to anyone looking for a heartfelt love story between an elderly couple and the fact that Ishiguro chose to have an elderly couple be his stars felt very unique in a genre that tends to prefer young, able-bodied heroes and heroines. If you are more like me and like fast-paced, snappy tales that keep you constantly on edge, then this may be one you want to pass on unless you are looking for something a bit different from your normal reading selection.THE BURIED GIANT can be found in pretty much every imaginable format on Amazon.

While I’m not a huge fan of fantasy novels, I like almost anything by Kazuo Ishiguro, so I picked this one up. The writing is outstanding, and the story is philosophical, like most of his work. The main characters are a couple of befuddled senior Britons, Axl, and Beatrice, living shortly after the time of King Arthur. This couple goes on an adventure which turns into a quest to see their adult son.Axl and Beatrice have lost many of their memories. In fact, the whole village where they live appears to have forgotten things. This is supposedly due to the existence of a nearby dragon as the reader gets further into the story. The dragon’s breath creates a mist that causes humans to forget things. Only recently do Axl and Beatrice realize that they have a grown son who lives in a village a few days from them. They set out to reunite with him.Along the way, they meet a man, a Saxon warrior, an odd boy from their village who went missing, and a former knight who fought under King Arthur. The couple travels with the warrior and the boy for convenience and safety. The knight claims he has been charged with killing the dragon. It is unclear what is the warrior’s mission. All the characters escape from various misadventures as they travel. Axl and Beatrice have several surprising revelations. Axl learns something about himself that he has forgotten which completely changes what he thinks of himself and his wife.The story is engaging and makes the reader think. Only one thing kept me from giving the work the highest rating: the uneven pacing. Several times I began a chapter in confusion because the story had jumped forward in time to events that hadn’t been explained. Then the story would go back and fill in the missing information. The abrupt shift would throw me out of the story. The first time this happened, I thought I had missed some significant details. I realize the time shifts are a non-linear way of telling the story, but it interrupted the flow for me. I still liked the book for its imaginative exploration of why memory loss can be a good thing. Readers of fantasy novels, tales of Arthurian knights, and those who enjoy Ishiguro’s work should enjoy this novel.

The review for the Buried giant: it’s strange and imaginative tale written, like a novel, like a fairytale I truly did not know how this tale was going to end as I never know how the endings of this authors work will go -so surreal are they.but it says a lot about human nature. And in an that way is sublime

I loved ‘Never let me go’. Maybe that’s because I read books as they are. I don’t look for allegories , deeper meanings or anything much beyond the writing. So I embarked on this novel. And it was hard work. The style was stilted and formal. Everyone spoke much the same so you had to ensure which character was talking. The format is very episodic, except each episode doesn’t necessarily start at the beginning so you have to hang on a few pages to find out where the character/ animal/ etc came from.So I actually found it very difficult if not impossible to engage with the players. I say players because elements of it reminded me of those old computer games called something like ‘adventure quest’ , where you had to ask the right questions to get the right answers. Only it took the whole book for them to ask the right questions.At the end I found myself admiring the quality of the writing, the construction of the plot but totally missing what the purpose of the book was. I was astonished by the rave reviews and wondered if there was another version of the book I had not been allowed to read.

Axl and Beatrice are searching a land covered in a memory-stifling mist for a son they have lost some years ago. On the way there will be knights and monks, trials and tribulations, and creatures of legend until they finally have to face the truth about themselves.It is quite extraordinary that a significant number of readers and critics have rejected this book on the basis that it is a fantasy novel – fairly low Arthurian fantasy at that. How can you be snobby about Kazuo Ishiguro? The man is a genius!Still, it is there loss, because The Buried Giant is both brilliantly written literary fiction and one hell of a story. This is one of the best portrayals of married love that I have ever read, and the central characters are utterly convincing. And, of course, this is Ishiguro, and nobody does heartbreak better than he.This book takes you on an extraordinary adventure then brings you to somewhere you never expected but always should have. The end of the book kept me thinking for days and is deeply touching. You owe it to yourself to read this masterpiece.

I read this book straight through in just under a day. It is a tale that grabs your heart in a subtle yet firm way - and takes you on a journey with a small number of companions who each have a different connection with history and memory and identity. A strange mist hangs over this tale that gives you every increasing glimpses of the giants that lied buried beneath. There is an allegorical depth to this tale that will take some time for me to more fully understand and appreciate it. It is a tale that touches on what it means to love - in spite of hurt and pain. Of how people try and deal with grief both personal and tribal. It has clear echoes of resonance with what is happening today. How do we choose to remember and celebrate? What do we choose to remember and celebrate? And why? And when all is said and done and commemorated, what do we do then? Where do we go? This novel gives much for the soul and heart to ponder. Thank you.

At first I was totally drawn into this story. I loved the way it was written, as if I was reading an old text in a children's library. I loved the intrigue of the characters and the journey they were going to undertake. I liked the mystery surrounding the boy and the soldier who had mighty strength and I couldn't put it down. Then I started to get a bit bored.Did I understand it? Was I missing something that other people could see? I don't know, I just know that I put it down for several days and when I did pick it up it was with a sigh and wondering what was going on outside my window.I did persevere, however, and when I reached the end, waiting for the lights to switch on and make it all worth it, I gave my biggest sigh and returned to the window. An anti-climax to say the least.Even the dragon didn't feature in the way I had hoped. So would I recommend this book? Probably not but maybe I just didn't get it.

I read 'The Buried Giant' and thought it almost a brilliant novel. The allegory is a simple one with a simple message: the mists of forgetfulness might be a blessing. Don't try to disperse them before you understand what you are doing. The meaning of the title, however, remained hidden from me until the end of the book; a warning, perhaps, that all is not well.Superficially, it is a fireside tale, initially narrated in the voice of a storyteller. Axl and Beatrice are a margialised, elderly couple whose community will not even allow them a candle. One day they decide to go on a journey to find a son they can only just remember. Along the way, they pass through a world that never was, apart from the fragments we retain today in old manuscripts and tales.This soon becomes an exploration of an ancient Britain made from dreams, hardly defined at all. Even then, its landscapes and people could have been made more generic. By rooting the story in the Dark Ages and in Arthurian myth, Ishiguro weighs it down and it struggles to lift itself above its own references. Other reviewers have mentioned Tolkien as a possible influence, pointing to his essay 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.' It may be better to cite Tolkien's short allegorical story. 'Leaf by Niggle' where an insignificant artist goes on a different journey of his own. I suspect that tale, which combines the mundane with the metaphysical, is a better reference point.Where Ishiguro adds a modicum of detail to his story it often seems oddly drawn and tugs at the attention in a way that creates a feeling of misplaced strangeness. Axl and Beatrice's encounter with a boatman and an old woman in the rain-drenched ruins of a Roman villa is a good example. The meeting is frightening, but only partly explained and the effect is distracting. It reminded me of films like 'Spirited Away' where a character will suddenly make an oblique statement, or perform what appears to be a contextually meaningless act. The cultural reference behind the moment is lost on us and we feel uncomfortable. There's a disadvantage to creating these seeming discontinuities in the narrative, because as we parse the events and fail to make complete sense of them, the coherence of the tale suffers.In itself, this would not be enough to spoil the book. However, taken with the Arthurian references which, for me, never seem completely right or mature enough; the way key information is delivered in oddly mannered speech by characters, and a plodding questing journey through forests, gloomy tunnels and sinister monasteries, the storyline sometimes feels contrived and clunky. At one point I imagined I was playing an old text-based adventure game. 'You are in the pit. The portcullis is raised: a hideous animal runs at you from the darkness.'In contrast, the fight scenes are pure Kurosawa. Nothing much seems to happen and then, suddenly, there is bloody death. These economical moments are probably. - and frustratingly - the most convincing pieces of description in the novel.The book comes alive right at the end, as the mist lifts from the minds of Axl and Beatrice. Everything suddenly seems so much clearer, more mundane and tragic. We are back in a recognisable world and it is a cynical one, full of predictability and sorrow. The final paragraphs hammer the point home and they are also very moving.It is this ending that makes the book worth reading. Like a master caligrapher, Ishiguro sweeps his brush over a plain surface in order to create something that leaps into the mind in a wonderful moment of recognition. The errors I feel he commits are to leave us waiting too long and to make his paper too watermarked with a mixture of cultural references that lead our thoughts astray before his true artistry appears.