The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

Rating: 3 stars

This story takes place in a mystical world, closing relating to the Arthurian tales. In this world there is a mist that causes everyone to lose their memories. The two main characters, Axl and Beatrice, are an elderly couple that live in a small village. The memories slowly come back to the couple in bits and pieces. They remember they have a son and take the journey to go find him. During their journey they encounter many mystical creatures and enter different villages with different customs. In one of the villages they meet a Saxon warrior, Wistan, and a young boy, Edwin. Later they encounter Sir Gawain, one of King Arthur's knight's. Together the group journeys through more villages. They finally reach the dragon that is the supposed cause of the mist. Along the journey Beatrice and Axl's relationship changes as more of their memories come back. After the dragon is defeated Axl and Beatrice regain all their memories back which uncovers some traumatic and dark memories.

The main characters are Axl and Beatrice. In the beginning of the story they are a devoted and heavily in love elderly couple. Axl often called Beatrice princess. What makes them unique is that they have amnesia. This provides an unreliable narration and leaves a lot of gaps throughout the story. As the story progresses their memory slowly starts to come back which changes their personalities and relationships with the other characters which is interesting.

This book is unlike anything I've read. I like the cover. It is a large tree with lots of branches and roots which signifies how things can be buried deep underground. Axl and Beatrice's roots were deeply hidden and forgotten, but when they remembered it shaped the people they are. There are large roots on the cover which represent how their memories were uncovered and revealed the truth about their past. I liked this book. I would recommend it to those who enjoy fantasy stories. The concept of the characters having amnesia and the connection to Arthurian legend makes the story unique and it is unlike anything I've read. It also demonstrates the impact memories have on us which truly stuck with me. I also enjoyed the dynamics of the characters. While reading it felt like I was a part of the book because as I learned more about them they also were uncovering the truth about themselves so their reactions to the truth were similar to mine, which immersed me in the book. I had read another one of his books, Klara and the Sun, which is another unique story and enjoyable to read, but I found myself to like this one more. By the end I was kind of heartbroken by what happened between the main characters, but it made the whole book come together. I really enjoyed how secrets and memories were uncovered to the characters and the reader at the same time.

Reviewed by Jordan H