Wednesday 25 March 2015

The Buried Giant

Finished March 24
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

This novel is set sometime in medieval England, long after the Romans left, shortly after the time of King Arthur. A small hill warren community has an older couple living in it named Axl and Beatrice. The couple have recently had privileges revoked for reasons they don't understand. Their memories seem elusive, lost in the mist that often seeps over their home. They seem to remember that they should go find their son and determine to make the journey.
The first stop along the journey is a Saxon village where Beatrice wants to seek the advice of a wisewoman there, They also plan to spend the night as a fellow Briton, Master Ivor married a Saxon woman and lives there. When they arrive the village is in a state of great upset. A man has been killed and a youth has been kidnapped. A visiting warrior, Wistan, vows to find and rescue the lad and kill the monsters that took him.
This is a world where ogres, dragons, and other magical creatures are accepted and acknowledged as part of the world they live in, and where the couple find their journey leads them to places they didn't imagine they'd go, and brings back memories both good and bad, testing and strengthening their love as they go.
This is a magical tale with deeper meanings and a sense of timelessness to it. Well worth reading.

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