Kazuo Ishiguro refers to the legends about King Arthur in his novel The Buried Giant. Although the novel begins as a mysterious and fascinating fairy tale, it soon turns into a moral lesson in responsibility, honesty and devotion. So who is that mysterious giant? As it turns out to be, the buried giant is Arthur’s secret of establishing peace between Britons and Saxons. Trying to extinguish the fire of the war, he asks Merlin to cast a spell on Quering, the she-dragon. Quering’s breath is supposed to poison the air and make people forget their past. That is why Saxons forget about injustice done to them and don’t try to avenge death of their women, children and the elderly.
Is this a wise decision? On the one hand, he manages to stop the war and make the enemies live peacefully side by side. On the other hand, the problem remains unsolved between them. Arthur has been always portrayed as a brave and fearless leader, but Kazuo Ishiguro describes him as a naïve man. He genuinely believes that peace is going to last forever. According to Wistan, this kind of peace is based on lies and coercion, which means that “the giant, once well buried” will definitely stir. Arthur tries and fails to avoid an inevitable conflict, for neither magic nor lies can solve people’s issues. However, Arthur doesn’t inspire resentment, for we all know that a bad peace is better than a good quarrel.
Let’s have a look at the protagonists of the story. Axl and Beatrice seem to be a perfect couple, whose love has been lasting for many years. Although they spend all the time together, their hearts swell with joy every time they look at each other. When it is revealed that Axl was responsible for the broken peace between Saxons and Britons, that he is capable of cruelty just like any other person, one can’t help but feel slightly cheated, for the ideal protagonist turns out to be a man with his own flaws and failings. However, the good thing is that Axl is a decent person after all. He doesn’t deny that he made a lot of mistakes and doesn’t try to put blame on others. Axl is honest enough to admit that he is sorry for everything bad he has ever done. Beatrice is not perfect too, but her story inspires only sadness. The poor mother, who fails to protect her one and only son from harshness of Axl, learns that her son has been dead for many years.
Although The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro is the beautifully written story, which manages to mesmerize its readers from the very first page, it leaves the readers with a feeling of great sadness. A new war between Saxons and Britons, personal tragedy of Wistan, devotion and brave death of Sir Gawain and future transformation of Edwin into a heartless warrior and the truth about Axl and Beatrice make us feel not only sorry for that fictional world but ours too.
