the buried giant
by kazuo ishiguro
★★★☆☆
dates read: 7/27/23 - 8/2/23
"In post-Arthurian Britain, the wars that once raged between the Saxons and the Britons have finally ceased. Axl and Beatrice, an elderly British couple, set off to visit their son, whom they haven't seen in years. And, because a strange mist has caused mass amnesia throughout the land, they can scarcely remember anything about him. As they are joined on their journey by a Saxon warrior, his orphan charge, and an illustrious knight, Axl and Beatrice slowly begin to remember the dark and troubled past they all share.
By turns savage, suspenseful, and intensely moving, The Buried Giant is a luminous meditation on the act of forgetting and the power of memory." (taken from goodreads)
the buried giant is essentially if literary fiction and fantasy had a baby.
speaking of literary fiction, i have to say that i really do love a good allegory, and although i didn't particularly love the buried giant, i thought that the concept was really clever on ishiguro's part. who would've thought that a story about knights, dragons, magic, pixies, and ogres could be one giant extended metaphor for erasure and history.
in his novel, ishiguro navigates the complex nature of truth, especially in terms of a violent past both on an individual and interpersonal level with axl and beatrice, but also on a national scale with the britons and the saxons.
axl and beatrice are not the most alluring main characters, in fact they're actually pretty boring, but i would argue that that is ishiguro's point. the mist has caused them to forget some of the most important moments of their life, key memories that build character, so therefore without them they feel hollow, a facade. however, they're committed to finding their son and in the process, the true nature of their marriage is revealed by the end of the novel. the same can be said for the britons as well.
on a grander scale, the lingering tensions between the britons and the saxons is a very prevalent part of the plot, but also the overall focus of ishiguro's novel. although it isn't revealed until later on in the book, the britons have an ugly history of violence, destruction, and betrayal that makes it basically impossible for the reader to feel any sympathy for sir gawain, the britons, or king arthur, despite being placed on a pedestal for majority of the plot. with that being said, the britons in the story are written to be apart of british history. i feel like that speaks for itself. the similarities are intentional and even more disturbing in the context that magic, dragons and ogres exist in this fictional history, yet colonialism, the weaponization of christianity, and religious persecution remain the same.
in both cases, the truth is surrounded by an inner turmoil and moral ambiguity. although there is fear in the unknown, axl and beatrice constantly question whether their relationship will remain the same if their memories return. knowing that the past will always affect the present, but not knowing what the past entails is terrifying. it is similar with the saxons and the britons, however, the fear comes from knowing the truth. in revealing briton's buried giant, there is only one potential outcome. war. and then the cycle of violence begins.
and that is the moral dilemma that ishiguro poses for his reader. is ignorance truly bliss? is it okay to erase bad memories or crucial historical events in order to maintain peace? if the truth is going to lead to more death, violence, and grief, is it worth it? how do you end the cycle of violence when one nation has done an irreparable amount of damage to another? how much does truth, justice, and memory weigh against peace? they are impossible questions to answer.
"What kind of god is it, sir, wishes wrongs to go unpunished and unfinished."
in that regard, the buried giant is definitely a masterpiece.
however, the main reason why i didn't love ishiguro's novel is more of a time and place issue. i'm sick of reading the same fomulaic book over and over again. by the time that i had read the buried giant, i had already read about three weeks worth of fantasy literature that started to feel like variations of the same story. the setting is based off of medieval europe. there's a dragon. the narrator is invasive. the language is of a higher register in order to sound more posh. it's an alternate history or something completely different, and yet feels familiar because it includes a lot of the same elements i just mentioned. despite the allegorical nature of the book, the buried giant follows the exact same pattern. had i read this novel at a different time in my life where i wasn't reading about dragons, magic, and knights everyday, i might have felt differently, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
surprisingly though, i would recommend reading the buried giant. it makes a lot of excellent commentary on history, violence, truth, and memory with all of these different concepts often weaving into one another.