slow and hypnotic

struggled through this as it regularly sent me to sleep... narration was a bit too soporific.

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Pleased I listened to the end

This was a book that I hoped would become clearer as it went on, a bit like the mist clearing that he talked of so often. Overall I was pleased I listened to it and I will remember it for a long time mainly because it was different. He describes pain and loss well and I wished that there was more joy to balance it. The depth of feeling between the couple was palpable. I am not sure I understood everything or gathered every intended message but I would recommend it to anyone who likes a thoughtful read

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fantastic, if you get the symbolism

this is a deep book, full of symbolism, done of which only became clear with a fair bit of thinking and reading reviews. it was beautifully read by David Horovitch.

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Eerie story

Where does The Buried Giant rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's hard to compare to other things I've listened to- both the narration and the story were good and the best word I can think of to describe it is 'gentle' - it is an adventure story in a way but it's not fast paced or full of action - maybe because the story is about an old couple - it is still quite gripping though!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Buried Giant?

I found the ideas about memory really interesting and the end is sad and stays with you.

Have you listened to any of David Horovitch’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No I haven't but I thought this performance was good I really forgot it was reading after a while

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Impressive

In beautiful language the author weaves a tale that goes to the heart of the human condition: to love and ultimately to loose. The setting is mythical, the emotions are not. I cannot remember another book which I found as moving. Part of it's brilliance is that it does this without being a terribly complicated read. Superficially a story about a journey with strange occurrences, the deeper layers are not hard to see. Even though my own memory is growing foggy (reference to the book here) I'm certain this one will stay with me.
Oh , nearly forgot to mention: the reading was (luckily) excellent, adding to the atmosphere of the book.

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Powerful and full of tenderness

The story is full of powerful metaphors about destiny, free choice, the meaning of love. The continuing anchor is the stability of a life long marriage, the narrative is intoxicating with time dragging and standing still punctuated by sudden frightening dramatic passages. A beautiful and tender ending.

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Not For Me

I like the author's 3 other books I've read. Listened to this for 2 hours, thought at first it was going to be OK but found my mind wandering. It was slow & boring & the way Axl kept calling Beatrice 'Princess'made me cringe. Sent it back. Amendment-didn't send it back as I'm not able to-it wasn't purchased with a credit. Has this changed, I'm sure you used to be able to? Oh well, only £1.99 (Daily Deal.)

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Keeps you thinking and feeling, strongly

Thought provoking, kept me engaged and on my toes, beautiful allegory and at times you just had to stop and repeat a chapter, just to try and grasp the essence of it.
Personally: I loved to voice of the narrator: but was irritated by the sharp ‘s’ sounds, surely that could have been sound edited a bit better? Also the very sudden intrusion of the usual Audible blurb - give us a break to savour the ending, for goodness sake! Hence the 1 point reduction! It truly annoyed me!
Book itself: would highly recommend! This was my second listen. Thank you!

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Hmmmm

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I'm still mulling over what I feel having finished The Buried Giant. While I was listening to it, I quite enjoyed certain parts, particular themes, it had some momentum, but I felt disappointed and frustrated by the story in the end. It promised but, for me anyway, failed to deliver on those promises. Maybe it's a book to be read in print, so one can conjure up one's own cast of characters.Ishiguro featured dragons and ogres but he failed to use them in an interesting way, almost as if he were ashamed of including them in the story in the first place. I'm not suggesting he took Tolkein's approach at all, but to ignore them as he did felt clumsy. Presumably if one lives in a land where ogres, pixies and dragons roam freely then I would imagine that one lives in a constant state of fear and people may have developed strategies to deal with said dangers. I didn't get this sense at all, the couple just meandered along, speaking in their strange stilted way to one another.I think my expectations were way too high.

What will your next listen be?

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

What three words best describe David Horovitch’s voice?

Versatile, downbeat, droning

Could you see The Buried Giant being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

I can't imagine this book, as it stands, being a good movie. But maybe if it had a director with a good imagination a new genre of meta-fantasy film making might emerge.

Any additional comments?

If you're expecting literary fantasy then this book isn't for you. It has a lot of fans, I don't want to do it down, I guess it just wasn't my thing. I read the last 50 pages to see if I might enjoy it more than listening, but by that stage I just wanted to finish it and move on.

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38 people found this helpful

Slow & gentle, with rising intrigue and richness.

I was not sure at first, but when they leave the village the elderly couple at the heart of this novel got under my skin and drew me on into their forgetful world. I slowly became more and more involved with their story and impressed with the author's vision of the mythical dark ages. Many of the old elements are included; Saxons and Britons, ogres, monks, a castle and even a dragon. But all these things are made new and at its heart this is a touching story about healing and memory.

This is my favourite book for quite a long time.

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16 people found this helpful