The Buried Giant is a fairy tale, with ogres, dragons, sprites, and knights. Like all fairy tales, it uses its fantastical elements to make a point about the real world. Unlike many fairy tales, the characters in this one don't live happily ever after.
In the years following the reign of King Arthur, an elderly couple sets off to visit their estranged son. A strange mist has spread amnesia throughout the land, so Axl and Beatrice can't quite remember how to get to their son's village or why they haven't seen him for so long. They meet various characters along the way, including a Saxon warrior and a former Knight of the Round Table, and become entangled in a quest to kill the dragon whose breath is the cause of the mist of forgetfulness.
Ishiguro allows the true story to emerge slowly from the mist. It turns out that the mass amnesia is a mixed blessing, since it causes the Britons and Saxons to forget the horrible deeds they committed against each other during the earlier wars. They've been living together peacefully for years, but what will happen when they remember their former grievances? Is forgetting atrocities enough of a balm, or do they demand retribution? If the cost of forgetting pain is also forgetting happiness, is it worth it?
In the years following the reign of King Arthur, an elderly couple sets off to visit their estranged son. A strange mist has spread amnesia throughout the land, so Axl and Beatrice can't quite remember how to get to their son's village or why they haven't seen him for so long. They meet various characters along the way, including a Saxon warrior and a former Knight of the Round Table, and become entangled in a quest to kill the dragon whose breath is the cause of the mist of forgetfulness.
Ishiguro allows the true story to emerge slowly from the mist. It turns out that the mass amnesia is a mixed blessing, since it causes the Britons and Saxons to forget the horrible deeds they committed against each other during the earlier wars. They've been living together peacefully for years, but what will happen when they remember their former grievances? Is forgetting atrocities enough of a balm, or do they demand retribution? If the cost of forgetting pain is also forgetting happiness, is it worth it?
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