The Buried Giant

 

This is the long awaited novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. As usual, it is a break with every other genre that Ishiguro has tackled previously. The Buried Giant is the story of Axl and 'Princess' Beatrice, an old couple, who go on a journey to rediscover their lost shared memories. The story is set in Saxon Britain, and is interlinked with the story of Britain post King Arthur. A mist of forgetfulness has descended on the nation and people struggle to retain long term memories as well as the odd short term memory. It has elements of fantasy and magic, and, if I'm honest, takes a little while to get into. I wasn't sure if I was enjoying it when I was reading it.  But then I got to the final chapter, and was cross when my husband interrupted me. He came in to the room when I was on the very last page, and witnessed big, fat, hot tears rolling down my face (and continuing on and off throughout the day). Clearly the story had affected me more than I had realised.