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The Buried Giant

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The Buried Giant

By: Kazuo Ishiguro
Narrated by: David Horovitch
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About this listen

The extraordinary novel from the Nobel Prize-winning author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day

The Romans have long since departed, and Britain is steadily declining into ruin. But at least the wars that once ravaged the country have ceased.

The Buried Giant begins as a couple, Axl and Beatrice, set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen for years. They expect to face many hazards - some strange and other-worldly - but they cannot yet foresee how their journey will reveal to them dark and forgotten corners of their love for one another.

Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel in a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge and war.

©2015 Kazuo Ishiguro (P)2015 Faber Audio Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Arthurian

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Critic reviews

"A deeply affecting portrait of marital love." (Guardian)

"A beautiful, heart-breaking book." (Observer)
All stars
Most relevant  

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I'm still mulling over what I feel having finished The Buried Giant. While I was listening to it, I quite enjoyed certain parts, particular themes, it had some momentum, but I felt disappointed and frustrated by the story in the end. It promised but, for me anyway, failed to deliver on those promises. Maybe it's a book to be read in print, so one can conjure up one's own cast of characters.Ishiguro featured dragons and ogres but he failed to use them in an interesting way, almost as if he were ashamed of including them in the story in the first place. I'm not suggesting he took Tolkein's approach at all, but to ignore them as he did felt clumsy. Presumably if one lives in a land where ogres, pixies and dragons roam freely then I would imagine that one lives in a constant state of fear and people may have developed strategies to deal with said dangers. I didn't get this sense at all, the couple just meandered along, speaking in their strange stilted way to one another.I think my expectations were way too high.

What will your next listen be?

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

What three words best describe David Horovitch’s voice?

Versatile, downbeat, droning

Could you see The Buried Giant being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

I can't imagine this book, as it stands, being a good movie. But maybe if it had a director with a good imagination a new genre of meta-fantasy film making might emerge.

Any additional comments?

If you're expecting literary fantasy then this book isn't for you. It has a lot of fans, I don't want to do it down, I guess it just wasn't my thing. I read the last 50 pages to see if I might enjoy it more than listening, but by that stage I just wanted to finish it and move on.

Hmmmm

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I was not sure at first, but when they leave the village the elderly couple at the heart of this novel got under my skin and drew me on into their forgetful world. I slowly became more and more involved with their story and impressed with the author's vision of the mythical dark ages. Many of the old elements are included; Saxons and Britons, ogres, monks, a castle and even a dragon. But all these things are made new and at its heart this is a touching story about healing and memory.

This is my favourite book for quite a long time.

Slow & gentle, with rising intrigue and richness.

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A beautiful story wonderfully read. However it felt like it always needed nudging to keep it moving. But that aside I enjoyed it & would recommend it (to anyone not looking for a fast pace).

Beautiful but slow going

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had no idea about this book but it was so weird and interesting, highly recommend

awesome

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This is not necessarily a gripping tale but it is enjoyable. It is a rather simple story of an elderly couple, a warrior, a young boy and a knight walking about in Arthurian Britain, occasionally strolling together as they each attempt to fulfil their personal quests. Memory (or lack thereof) is a strong theme and although the writing is excellent and the narration top drawer, the lack of a focussed plot driving the book makes for heavy going at times. It's character driven and although I personally enjoy it, many probably won't despite some of the beautiful prose.

A Meandering Fantasy

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Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Well read and well written. A book that will stay on your mind after you've finished it.

Great book

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The allegorical nature of this novel only really became clear to me in the last couple of hours of listening. I'm not really a big fantasy aficionado so much of this was a bit of a struggle for me. But by the end I felt I understood what the author was trying to do and found the last 45 minutes extremely moving indeed.

Buried meanings

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David Horowitz reads this story exceptionally well. Flawless.
Story was somewhat frustrating. An unsatisfactory ending.

Outstanding performance by David Horovitch

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Where does The Buried Giant rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's hard to compare to other things I've listened to- both the narration and the story were good and the best word I can think of to describe it is 'gentle' - it is an adventure story in a way but it's not fast paced or full of action - maybe because the story is about an old couple - it is still quite gripping though!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Buried Giant?

I found the ideas about memory really interesting and the end is sad and stays with you.

Have you listened to any of David Horovitch’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No I haven't but I thought this performance was good I really forgot it was reading after a while

Eerie story

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Thought provoking, kept me engaged and on my toes, beautiful allegory and at times you just had to stop and repeat a chapter, just to try and grasp the essence of it.
Personally: I loved to voice of the narrator: but was irritated by the sharp ‘s’ sounds, surely that could have been sound edited a bit better? Also the very sudden intrusion of the usual Audible blurb - give us a break to savour the ending, for goodness sake! Hence the 1 point reduction! It truly annoyed me!
Book itself: would highly recommend! This was my second listen. Thank you!

Keeps you thinking and feeling, strongly

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