Listening to the Silence

I was really excited about this book. Ishiguro hasn't released a new book in a number of years and this one has ties to Arthurian legend, so I was thinking it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me. On the surface, The Buried Giant tells the story of an elderly married couple who makes the decision to leave their home to find their son whom they've not seen in a number of years. However, it is clear from the beginning that there is more to it than that. A mist of forgetfulness lies over the whole land, preventing them and everyone else from accessing their memories, even of the recent past. As the story continues it morphs into something greater than just a trip to visit their son into a quest to dispel this fog and recover their lost past.

This summary actually makes the book sound really intriguing, and it could have been. Yet it was lacking something. It felt like the same veil preventing Axl and Beatrice from their memories also prevented me from fully connecting with their story. The pacing of the story was quite slowe and even events that should have been exciting and instead made me feel tired and at times bored. As a result it took a long time to complete this book. If you are a fan of Ishiguro, I would recommend you read it, however for those who have not enjoyed his books in the past it is one I suggest you skip.