Kazuo Ishiguro - The Buried Giant

The extraordinary new novel from the author of Never Let Me Go and the Booker Prize winning The Remains of the Day. The Romans have long since departed, and Britain is steadily declining into ruin. But at least the wars that once ravaged the country have ceased. The Buried Giant begins as a couple, Axl and Beatrice, set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen for years. They expect to face many hazards – some strange and other-worldly – but they cannot yet foresee how their journey will reveal to them dark and forgotten corners of their love for one another. Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel in a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge and war.

Comment: I got this book at my loal library the last time I went there. This is the fourth book by Ishiguro I've tried and I must say of the four of them, this is probably the one I struggled the most with.

In this novel, the author uses an almost fantasy scenario to create a story about lost memories and the outcome of war.

An older couple, Axl and Beatrice are presented to us when they decide to momentarily leave their village to go see their son, who lives in another place. It's been years since they saw them and for Beatrice is imperative that they travel to see him.

The circumstances of their life at the village are odd but even more so is the journey they embark, especially because of the people they encounter and the things they see and learn along the way. 

In the end, the couple must decide if the journey was worth it or if the secrets uncovered during it don't justify the high price paid...

I'm not certain I can translate into words why this story felt a little unsuccessful to me. The author is acclaimed for his novels on the memory theme (for the most part) and how characters react to things around them by remembering past events, situations and so on. It's almost as if the character is looking for something somewhere and the solution for their dilemmas is in their past experiences. I know this can sound vague and in this novels' case, even redundant since the whole book is centered on the couple's physical journey but of course what matters is their emotional one.

I just struggled to follow the points that matter because there are too many weird elements in the novel.

Some readers have commented that this story led nowhere and there are no answers to get from the whole experience. Axl and Beatrice go on their journey and during the time it takes the story to be finished they uncover some truths about themselves and things they did in their past. Some aren't what we would expect but the thing is, all these things are told to us in such a vague manner, almost dreamlike, that I was never certain about what it was supposed to mean nor if there is a specific lesson/point I should have understood. I still can't tell if some things were real or not regarding the couple's lives.

There are also some interesting and weird elements throughout this novel. The setting is clearly the time after the Roman empire leaves Great Britain and there is a lot of talk about the Arthur legend and some characters. 

The tone of this story is mysterious, there are things that, while unclear in general, add to the atmosphere of the story. Others are simply too weird and I can't understand why they would matter (such as some paranormal effects) unless the purpose is to confuse the reader all the time.

I just think there was this crescendo of expectation, of a quest that would end in a certain goal but the goal never really happened.

We discover some things about Axl and Beatrice's life that explain some of these inconsistencies int he novel but it was never really satisfying after so many pages.

I could see how the author would want to impress on the reader certain subjects by having all this vagueness and weird elements but some things don't really seem to be connected. I also read somewhere he used a lot of subtlety and I must say not only do I agree but would say is too much.

If one can't connect with the characters, their goal, their lives, how can the story be a cohesive one to be appreciated? Just my opinion.

The other books I've read by the author were interesting enough but in all I expected something more (except Remains of the Day, which was awesome) but this one felt a little less strong overall. Still, it had a scene here and there that was quite well done.

Grade: 5/10