I have never read a novel by Ishiguro before to completion. Generally, I'm quite trusting of a new author if I like his prose style, and his vocabulary, but there is a small problem, a prejudice really, that I have when tackling novels which are purportedly science fiction, written by the so called 'mainstream' author. This innate distrust, however, is a conditioned distrust: for someone who takes his science fiction very seriously, and reads very widely regardless of genre, style or period, I have seen my favourite genre being lambasted on and off by those who have either not read widely in the field, or are living under the assumption that all science fiction fans are prone to blindly following any author at all who makes a name for himself in the field. They'd be most surprised to know that, on the contrary, serious SF fans, much like any other genre, are often most discerning and critical of the SF that they read. But they might also find, in the process, that they aren't snobs about it either: they are voracious, they'll read every new release, but they'll also read the latest mainstream read as well, along with anything else they can lay their hands on. It makes no sense to be prejudiced when it comes to the matter of reading.
Which is why I began my first Ishiguro with some apprehension. An author I'm quite fond of, Mrs Le Guin, was extremely critical of the novel. She seems to have taken offense at Ishiguro's opinion of the fantastic, and the traditional motifs and conventions of fantasy fiction, as being essentially allegorical. I understand why she might have a problem with this. I do myself. Allegory in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's the preachiness and the relative ease of the medium when it comes to translating complicated emotions and sensations that gets my goat. One could argue that you can add as many layers and as much depth to an allegory as you'd like, but if at the end of the day the book reeks of an ideological motive driving time tested characters such as dragons and ogres, people are bound to become suspicious that they're being taken for a ride, as it were, through the author's personal hells and heavens.
The Buried Giant is obviously allegorical. There's no escaping it. But it's also exquisitely written, with an understated grace and an attention to detail and preciseness of language that puts the lie to the entire trend of churning out fat fantasy novels. While you could argue that Ishiguro's priorities are very different, and that he is using his characters as tools, and that this story has a warning sign of a Moral tacked onto every other chapter, and be correct, it's quite uncanny how, in spite of all of this, he manages to be delicate and inspiring all at the same time. Why delicate? Well, for starters, the customary fight sequences that inform a Knights and Warriors yarn are present here as well, but they aren't dull exercises in exhaustively laying out, for pages on end, how one man parried and the other ducked. In a few sentences he gets across all the excitement a lesser author would have happily spent long paragraphs articulating. One senses, while reading Ishiguro, that brevity is more a necessity at times than a fashion statement in the literary world. If your story needs you to be precise and direct, then that's what it should deserve.
It is the same with Ishiguro's descriptions: they are all essential to setting the atmosphere of the story, and nothing is wasted in the telling. They are an organic part of the world of medieval Britain he creates, and of his characters.
Perhaps the greatest single strength of the novel, however, is what everyone seems to be at odds with: Ishiguro's understanding of the genre. It is surprisingly well informed. The pleasure the reader receives in allowing the words and the conversations, whose context Ishiguro often keeps hidden, nevertheless making an immediate impression upon the reader is nothing short of amazing. Again, with lesser authors, this becomes a tricky protocol to successfully execute, leading to a pace that drags till the reader finally is made privy to the key to understanding every passage that escaped him before. Ishiguro's hoards his surprises like a dragon himself, but what's exciting is how you read for the language and the descriptions first, trusting the author implicitly in the process. And Ishiguro respects this trust, all the way. While a few threads are left dangling, the majority of the secrets are quietly revealed in the end, with a lot of grace and compassion.
Ishiguro's latest is a joy to read, and is one of the greatest fantasy novels in and out of genre you can possibly read in the twenty first century.
Which is why I began my first Ishiguro with some apprehension. An author I'm quite fond of, Mrs Le Guin, was extremely critical of the novel. She seems to have taken offense at Ishiguro's opinion of the fantastic, and the traditional motifs and conventions of fantasy fiction, as being essentially allegorical. I understand why she might have a problem with this. I do myself. Allegory in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's the preachiness and the relative ease of the medium when it comes to translating complicated emotions and sensations that gets my goat. One could argue that you can add as many layers and as much depth to an allegory as you'd like, but if at the end of the day the book reeks of an ideological motive driving time tested characters such as dragons and ogres, people are bound to become suspicious that they're being taken for a ride, as it were, through the author's personal hells and heavens.
The Buried Giant is obviously allegorical. There's no escaping it. But it's also exquisitely written, with an understated grace and an attention to detail and preciseness of language that puts the lie to the entire trend of churning out fat fantasy novels. While you could argue that Ishiguro's priorities are very different, and that he is using his characters as tools, and that this story has a warning sign of a Moral tacked onto every other chapter, and be correct, it's quite uncanny how, in spite of all of this, he manages to be delicate and inspiring all at the same time. Why delicate? Well, for starters, the customary fight sequences that inform a Knights and Warriors yarn are present here as well, but they aren't dull exercises in exhaustively laying out, for pages on end, how one man parried and the other ducked. In a few sentences he gets across all the excitement a lesser author would have happily spent long paragraphs articulating. One senses, while reading Ishiguro, that brevity is more a necessity at times than a fashion statement in the literary world. If your story needs you to be precise and direct, then that's what it should deserve.
It is the same with Ishiguro's descriptions: they are all essential to setting the atmosphere of the story, and nothing is wasted in the telling. They are an organic part of the world of medieval Britain he creates, and of his characters.
Perhaps the greatest single strength of the novel, however, is what everyone seems to be at odds with: Ishiguro's understanding of the genre. It is surprisingly well informed. The pleasure the reader receives in allowing the words and the conversations, whose context Ishiguro often keeps hidden, nevertheless making an immediate impression upon the reader is nothing short of amazing. Again, with lesser authors, this becomes a tricky protocol to successfully execute, leading to a pace that drags till the reader finally is made privy to the key to understanding every passage that escaped him before. Ishiguro's hoards his surprises like a dragon himself, but what's exciting is how you read for the language and the descriptions first, trusting the author implicitly in the process. And Ishiguro respects this trust, all the way. While a few threads are left dangling, the majority of the secrets are quietly revealed in the end, with a lot of grace and compassion.
Ishiguro's latest is a joy to read, and is one of the greatest fantasy novels in and out of genre you can possibly read in the twenty first century.
This is a gorgeous review. Want to read this book as soon as possible.
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