My rating : 4/5 ☆☆☆☆
For anyone who has read any Kazuo Ishiguro novels before, it is clear that despite the fantasy or science fiction themes, the true focus of his writing is always in the exploration of human relationships.
(Spoilers below).
The Buried Giant is no different. Although including fantasy characters of She Dragons who'd breath creates a mist over the land that causes people to forget, the real story is that of human conflict and historical atrocities as well as that of the love between a married couple in the end of their lives.
The novel is written so beautifully with quotes throughout it I absolutely love, my favourite of which is as follows:
"Should memories return, and among them of times I disappointed you. Or yet of dark deeds I may once have done to make you look at me and see no longer the man you do now. Promise me this at least. Promise, princess, you'll not forget what you feel in your heart for me in this moment."
This quote really is the heart of the novel. It shows here the main theme for Beatrice and Axl, as they say that the love they have for each other in the present is all that matters to them, and is their love in the purest sense for it is just a natural feeling they have for each other. But it brings the questions that, is love its purest if you forget or ignore a past? Or is love something that comes from the foundations of the past? And if Beatrice is to remember an atrocity Axl had committed, is she not entitled to change her opinion and lose her love for him? Is love something that is only what you feel in the present or is it something that is a complex mass of understanding and knowing each other fully?
This theme is only the base level of what this novel explores, for the true theme, I believe lies within the conflict between the Saxons and the Britons. Whilst there is the mist, allowing them to forget the atrocities they had committed against each other, they get on, but once it is lifted, do they not have a right to hate each other?
It's reflective of our society now, how many ask you to forget the atrocities of our ancestors against each other and form our relationships based on how we feel and treat each other in the present, but our society was built on this conflict, we surely can't just ignore it? This theme is summed up in an interaction between Wistan and Sir Gawain, in which Gawain insists:
"Leave this country to rest in its forgetfulness" And Wistan responds:
"How can old wounds heal while maggots linger so richly? Or a peace hold for ever built on slaughter and a magicians trickery?"
In which they beg the question here, is ignorance bliss? In both our reflection on society and humanity, and on our intimate relationships.
This is what makes The Buried Giant one of my favourite novels, it is so rich in both imagery and in theme, and portrays human relationships in such a beautiful way. The only reason I gave this book 4 rather than 5 stars is that at some points I felt myself getting lost in this imagery and struggled to find my way back to the narrative. Whether that's my own fault for being easily distracted or not is another question.
I would 1000% recommend this book to anyone who will listen!
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