The Buried Giant in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Mar 29, 2021 Judy marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Review from Powells:

Staff Pick
This book lives among my top 10 favorite books of all time. The story entails the journeys of an aging couple, two warriors, and Sir Gawain, the chivalrous knight from Arthurian legends. Their fates all meet as they make their way across Britain, at a time when ogres and other mythical creatures were said to still walk among us. We come to learn that what they think they are seeking is not quite what is drawing them, and that memories are really just our own persona Review from Powells:

Staff Pick
This book lives among my top 10 favorite books of all time. The story entails the journeys of an aging couple, two warriors, and Sir Gawain, the chivalrous knight from Arthurian legends. Their fates all meet as they make their way across Britain, at a time when ogres and other mythical creatures were said to still walk among us. We come to learn that what they think they are seeking is not quite what is drawing them, and that memories are really just our own personal mythologies. But it is the telling of the fable that makes it feel very much like a folktale you’ve been told your whole life, passed down generation after generation. That is the magic of Ishiguro, and why you must read this book. Recommended By Aubrey W., Powells.com

A sometimes quiet, sometimes tense quest novel, The Buried Giant weaves the pastoral with the magical. An elderly couple start a journey to visit the son they haven't seen in years. Anticipating an easy trip, they soon become entangled with a warrior, a knight, and a sleeping dragon, not to mention pixies and slightly sinister boatmen. Not just a fantasy story, Ishiguro's novel has much to say about marriage, trust, memory, and love. With a nod to Charlie Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Ishiguro asks whether or not, if possible, we would choose to keep our painful memories. Do they make us who we are? Do they change us into other people? Before they know it, the elderly couple realizes the choice they make about memory will affect their entire world. Sweet, and bittersweet as well, The Buried Giant is an unexpected story from a literary giant. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com

This profound fairy tale set in Arthurian England follows an elderly couple on a quest to find their son. Both a dreamy invocation of a mythic England and a poignant examination of the trauma of memory, The Buried Giant is a gorgeous, current, and deeply satisfying novel. Recommended By Rhianna W., Powells.com
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Apr 30, 2017 Debbie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Set in Britain sometime after King Arthur, the Britons and the Saxons are finally at peace. But at what cost? A mist over the land has caused an epidemic of forgetfulness. No one seems to have any memories of the past. Axl and Beatrice are an elderly married couple who decide to find their son, who they haven't seen in many years.

I was intrigued about what was really going on and about the deeper question of memory and its importance to relationships, but this story never really came together f ...more

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Jan 22, 2016 Emilie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed immensely Ishiguro telling Tales of England Past with ageing heroes of Arthurian legends lost in the mist. The two central characters' journey (yes, in this case, it works as a metaphor) is deeply moving.
I think it helped a lot that I was listening to the audiobook. It adds to the bedtime story charm. ...more

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