The Buried Giant

Kazuo Ishiguro is the most recent Nobel Laureate in Literature (they didn't give one this year, because of hanky-panky among the judges, so will give two next year). I wanted to read one of his books, and since I had already seen the film versions of Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, I picked The Buried Giant, which is kind of a Tolkien/Arthurian medieval adventure that is absolutely charming, and also challenges our perceptions of memory.

There is a buried giant mentioned in the book, but it is also used as a metaphor. What if you lived in a place where your memories didn't stretch back more than a few months? Axl and Beatrice, two elderly Britons, live in such a place, where a mist perpetually hangs. This mist is caused by a she-dragon, Querig.

The couple decide to go visit their son and set off on a trek across post-Roman Britain. They end up with two traveling companions, a Saxon warrior called Wistan, and a Saxon boy who has a strange bite on his stomach, which makes him an outcast from his village (they think he has been bitten by an ogre). Wistan is on a quest to kill Querig.

Along the way they meet the other major character, Sir Gawain, who of course is directly taken from the tales of King Arthur. Gawain recognizes Axl as a former knight, which Axl has completely forgotten. We eventually learn that Querig's memory-removing mist is keeping everyone ignorant of the horrible wars between Britons and Saxons, and that has kept peace. Should the memories be resurrected? Should the giant be dug up?

The prose is written in straightforward fantasy style, with everyone speaking in very polite, formal speech. There are not many flights of fancy, and the first half or so of the book can be very dry. It isn't until Gawain is introduced that things starting hopping. In addition to ogres, there are vicious pixies, a kind of large dog-like creature, and of course a dragon.

The matter-of-fact style takes some getting used to: "The Saxon side-stepped neatly, and drew his own sword across the oncoming man in a single simple movement. The soldier let out a sound such as a bucket makes when, dropped into a well, it first strikes the water; he then fell forward onto the ground." There is little sentimentality to the book, other than the enduring love of the old couple, but they both fear that should their memories return they will have done something to upset the other.

In any case, I read the last part quickly, as it was quite suspenseful, though the ending left me perplexed. The Buried Giant works as fantasy, but also as something deeper. “The giant, once well buried, now stirs. When soon he rises, as surely he will, the friendly bonds between us will prove as knots young girls make with the stems of small flowers."