The Buried Giant

Some reviews have likened this book to Game of Thrones or The Lord of the Rings, but I don't see much of either within. The Buried Giant is more akin to Don Quixote or The Odessey in a Beowulf setting. An aged couple set out on a journey to visit their son through a land that has a curse laid on it that makes people lose their memory of both the recent and distant past. Along the way their journey becomes a quest to recover their memories and they encounter ogres, a dragon, pixies, mad monks, a hero and Sir Gawain himself. Some of these others too are on quests and their paths intertwine sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Whilst there are villains to be defeated there is no unifying aim that draws the characters together in a Lord of the Rings sense and so this owes much more to The Odessey where each character is wrestling as much with their inner demons as those about them in the physical world. I found it an enjoyable and straight-forward read once I got over trying to read too much into it and over analysing it for some hidden allegorical meaning. There may be one, but in the end I didn't find it and I was all the better for that.

Beautifully written with a simplicity that belies the carefully scripted layers that make up this story. The reader is kept in as much suspense as the characters themselves, as they slowly rediscover and remember the events that crafted their identities. It's been a long time since i've enjoyed an Ishiguro work this much. Be forewarned: This is not a fantasical, Arthurian tale. Anyone who is looking forward to dragon slaying knights and lots of witchery thrown in will be sorely disappointed.

This is more than a just a fantasy. It has a lot in it about memory and loss. How people live and get along together. It could be personal or political. Really enjoyed it, made me think.