Book Review: The Buried Giant

 

 

 

Book Review: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro 

 

Goodreads Description: "You've long set your heart against it, Axl, I know. But it's time now to think on it anew. There's a journey we must go on, and no more delay..."

The Buried Giant begins as a couple set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen in years.

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

 

My Review: Ugh. That's all that comes to mind when I think of this book. Just, ugh. I WISH before I'd picked it up that it was mentioned SOMEWHERE that this book is based on Arthurian folklore. I've never been a fan of Arthurian-style stories (the only exception being Monty Python) and would have never picked it up had I known this was the case. However, I did finish it, and while I was very unsatisfied on the whole, Ishiguro's writing style was enigmatic enough to keep my attention. I'd be interested in checking out more of Ishiguro's work just based on his use of language and atmosphere; I just wish this wasn't my first introduction to him.

A lot of the faults in this book could be attributed to its Arthurian style -- but perhaps that's my bias showing. The book is slow, it's boring. It fully embodies the traits of a mythical knight's tale, with plenty of armored men standing around, preaching about honour and chivalry. The characters felt less like people and more like archetypes serving a role, which made the story feel wooden. There are certainly some gems within the text, like the dynamic tension and intimacy between the married couple, but these small sparks are drowned out by the blandness surrounding it. I'd hoped that the ending and the reveal of the mystery -- why the mist made people forget-- would compensate for the boring journey to get there, but that sadly wasn't the case. Unfortunately, the book was utterly flavourless and not worth sinking my teeth into. 

TL;DR: All in all, 2/5 stars. A bland Arthurian journey story with a lackluster ending.

Book Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society

Book Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi 

Goodreads Description: When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls "an animal rights organization." Tom's team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.

What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.

It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society that's found its way to the alternate world. Others have, too--and their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.

My Review: Oh man, this book was so much fun. It's a perfect dose of wish-fulfillment to combat how fucking depressing the world is these days. There's another world filled with wonder and majesty and kaijus? Jobs that offer stability, community, a decent salary, BENEFITS?? And to top it off, the corporate cronies destroying our environment and taking advantage of workers finally get what's coming to them? Sign me the fuck up! 

This book calls back to the old days of sci-fi, with a dose of hearty science and expansive world-building. The narrative doesn't linger on the science aspects, but it does offer more technical explanations than many other modern sci-fi novels, which may be a hit for nerdy world-building types. I was particularly fascinated with the science behind the kaijus, as they're often described as living worlds unto themselves. The book also dives into multiple ethical quandaries that are deeply applicable to our own world: should unregulated capitalism be allowed to reek havoc on the natural world? How much does corporatism influence science? How do we balance our needs while being environmentally sustainable? While these questions are explored throughout the text, at its core, this book is a wish-fulfillment fantasy that doesn't dive too deep into introspection. Most of the characters are fairly static, including Jamie himself, who doesn't learn a lesson or grow over the course of the story. Jamie functions as an everyman who has been screwed over by late stage capitalism in a way most of us can relate to, and serves as stand-in that readers can project themselves onto. Because of that, he doesn't come with much personality, or goals, or purpose of his own besides paying his rent. But this lack of dimension doesn't hurt the book at all, as it allows readers to turn their brain off as they wrangle some wily kaiju and take back a sense of control. 

TL;DR: All in all, 4/5 stars. A delightful action-comedy romp with heavy world-building and a heart of gold.