Title: The Buried Giant
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Tags: #fantasy #ghibli #kingArthur
Discovered: The Oxford Literary Festival 2015
Where read: (In part) On the way to Dover Castle
The Word's Shortlist view:
Fans of Kazuo Ishiguro, and let's face it who isn't, have waited a considerably long time for a new novel. Admittedly we've had a number of short stories and the film adaptation of Never Let Me Go but its been 10 years wait for a new novel. Wait no more.
The Buried Giant is something of a departure for Ishiguro, delving as it apparently does into the genre of fantasy fiction (or mythical realism if you take the Studio Ghibli line). That said, dig a little deeper and you'll find the unique storytelling that Kazuo Ishiguro is so celebrated for.
The novel is set in the early mediaeval (perhaps Arthurian?) period in British history, after the Romans have retreated. Landscapes of wild and rocky vistas are home to small tribes and communities living underground in rabbit warren villages. This is a land of superstition and a time when the mythology of giants, ogres, pixies and, yes, dragons are rife but this is less A Game of Thrones, and more Tolkien at the Hay Festival.
Like The Hobitt, The Buried Giant is an episodic fable based around the journey elderly couple Axl and Beatrice must make to find their estranged son. "There's a journey we must go on , and no more delay". Although the couple meet an array of characters on their journey its the collective loss of memory, understood to be dragon's breath, that is most memorable part of the story. What horrors have led to such mass social dementia?
Whilst the book's fantasy elements are beautiful written there is something missing when it comes to the human characters of Axl and Beatrice themselves. Its incredibly difficult to empathise with either character which ultimately makes this read enjoyable but unfulfilling.
Can Ishiguro produce a novel that delivers as a fantasy genre piece AND a work of literary fiction? Yes of course, but is this his best work? Im afraid not.
Find a link to the book's trailer here http://theburiedgiant.co.uk
The Buried Giant is something of a departure for Ishiguro, delving as it apparently does into the genre of fantasy fiction (or mythical realism if you take the Studio Ghibli line). That said, dig a little deeper and you'll find the unique storytelling that Kazuo Ishiguro is so celebrated for.
The novel is set in the early mediaeval (perhaps Arthurian?) period in British history, after the Romans have retreated. Landscapes of wild and rocky vistas are home to small tribes and communities living underground in rabbit warren villages. This is a land of superstition and a time when the mythology of giants, ogres, pixies and, yes, dragons are rife but this is less A Game of Thrones, and more Tolkien at the Hay Festival.
Like The Hobitt, The Buried Giant is an episodic fable based around the journey elderly couple Axl and Beatrice must make to find their estranged son. "There's a journey we must go on , and no more delay". Although the couple meet an array of characters on their journey its the collective loss of memory, understood to be dragon's breath, that is most memorable part of the story. What horrors have led to such mass social dementia?
Whilst the book's fantasy elements are beautiful written there is something missing when it comes to the human characters of Axl and Beatrice themselves. Its incredibly difficult to empathise with either character which ultimately makes this read enjoyable but unfulfilling.
Can Ishiguro produce a novel that delivers as a fantasy genre piece AND a work of literary fiction? Yes of course, but is this his best work? Im afraid not.
Find a link to the book's trailer here http://theburiedgiant.co.uk
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