I’m feeling very
up-to-date writing this book review, because Kazuo Ishiguro’s new novel The Buried Giant was only released last
month. I was actually lucky enough to go and see Ishiguro talk about the book
as part of the Bath Literary Festival (and after sitting in absolute awe in the
second row, I was able to go and get my copy signed). It was really interesting
to hear him speak about his motivation and inspiration for writing this
particular book, and about his apparent movement into “fantasy”.
One of the things I
so love about Kazou Ishiguro’s novels is that every one is so completely
different from the last – and The Buried
Giant is no exception. It takes us back to a mythical British Middle Ages,
shortly after the death of King Arthur. Britons and Saxons divide the land
between then, and ogres, pixies and dragons still roam the earth. We follow
Beatrice and Axl, an elderly couple on a quest to find their half-forgotten
son. They soon find themselves caught up in the larger tension between the
Britons and the Saxons, and in trying to solve and disperse the odd mist that
has fallen over their land, making everybody forget the past.
I wouldn’t call The Buried Giant a fantasy novel so much
as perhaps a fable, a fairy tale with deeper currents running through it. It
has a strange quality to it, a detached storytelling tone that makes the whole
book feel like a parable. The characters didn’t feel quite human to me, but
more representations of human characteristics, and I kept having to remind
myself while reading that that was supposed to be the case. However I do think
it works. The dialogue doesn’t read like real people speaking, but it adds to
the fable feel. What the narrative distance may lose in empathy, we perhaps
gain in reflection. Besides, even if the characters seem strangely fairy tale
like, we do see sparks of humanity in them, especially in the relationship
between Axl and Beatrice, which I thought was touchingly and beautifully dealt
with. Although it took a little while to get used to, I really enjoyed the
parable style narration, and for me the chapters in first person seem a little
out of place. One of the things I really love about this novel is the almost
omniscient storyteller whose voice dips in and out of the story, and the way it
makes us wonder just who this fable is being told to.
It’s perhaps because
of this parable-like tone that the ending disappointed me. The novel is set up
as a fable, and fables feel like they need morals, messages, or certainly some
kind of conclusion. Perhaps the very point of this novel is that it doesn’t
have a simple moral message, that life is never as clear cut as fables – and
yet for me it just feels like the book stops ten pages too soon. I was left a
little bewildered and a little underwhelmed. With Axl and Beatrice’s plotline
there doesn’t seem to be real closure, and with Edwin and the warrior’s, I felt
like certain things were set up that came to nothing. For me the ending of The Buried Giant didn’t quite the same
poignancy that Ishiguro’s other works have had.
But I know I have to
be careful when reading the latest books of authors I love. I’m often in danger
of judging them too harshly. It’s very hard for me to not pick up an Ishiguro
novel with massively great expectations, simply because I know him to be a very
talented writer, and because I so enjoy his books. Remains of the Day and Never
Let Me Go are two of my favourite novels ever, and I kept having to remind
myself as I was reading The Buried Giant to
judge it simply as a novel rather than an Ishiguro novel. I often have this
problem; I had it when I read Diane Setterfield’s second novel Bellman & Black, because her
first (The Thirteenth Tale) is my
absolute favourite modern novel. I had to keep reminding myself as I was
reading The Buried Giant not to let
my high expectations get in the way – because ultimately I do really like this
novel, even if for me it doesn’t quite compare to his others.
What I especially
found intriguing about The Buried Giant is
how it deals with memory. Memory seems to be one of Ishiguro’s favourite themes
throughout all his novels, and it’s certainly one of my favourite themes to
read about. I love how this book deals not with individual memory but
collective memory. Burying the giant of the past effects not only Axl and
Beatrice’s relationship but the whole dynamic of the kingdom. The novel
explores how the choice to forget atrocities, mistakes and injuries, both on a
domestic and a national scale, can alter perceptions and relationships. This
novel is not so much about the elusiveness and unreliability of memory, but
more about the dangers of what might happen when you do remember accurately.
It’s a fascinating and pertinent premise and Ishiguro explores it well.
So I heartily
recommend The Buried Giant, partly
because it’s an intriguing book that I almost think everybody will interpret
differently. As always with Ishiguro the writing is excellent and impressively
controlled, the themes deftly explored and the setting weird in the most
enjoyable of ways. I always like the worlds Ishiguro creates, because they seem
half familiar and half alien. It’s a curious, strange and in many ways
brilliant novel.
Greatest
strength: Its main
theme of memory, and the fable-like tone.
Greatest
weakness: For me
the ending was a little disappointing.
Let’s
finish on a quote:
‘In this community, the past was rarely discussed... it had somehow faded into
a mist as dense as that which hung over the marshes.’
Next week: Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
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