The Burden of Memory

In Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro’s seventh novel, there’s a giant in the land. Set in post-Arthurian England, The Buried Giant opens with elderly Britonian couple Axl and Beatrice on the cusp of a fantastical quest. Having awakened to the fact that neither of them can remember further back than a few weeks, or even days, they resolve to discover the cause of their forgetfulness.  Beatrice is particularly insistent on this, concerned that absent any recollection of a shared life, their love won’t last: “I’m wondering if without our memories, there’s nothing for it but for our love to fade and die.” Axl, at least initially, is not afraid of that. He’s not going to let his princess slip. He’ll bundle her up and bind her to his back before he lets forgetfulness win.