READING UPDATE: KAZUO ISHIGURO, THE BURIED GIANT AND MORE

Hello dear readers, how's life treating you? It's time for another reading update on my blog. You guys know that I'm a bookworm and a reading addict, right? Today I have a couple of book reviews to share with you. I'll be reviewing four books (more precisely: two novels and two short story collections). It's a mixed crowd of writers that I'm reviewing, from Nobel winning Kazuo Ishiguro to some other well known authors. So, let's get started. Scroll down to read my opinion of these books. 


“But then again I wonder if what we feel in our hearts today isn't like these raindrops still falling on us from the soaked leaves above, even though the sky itself long stopped raining. I'm wondering if without our memories, there's nothing for it but for our love to fade and die.”

 Kazuo Ishiguro, The Buried Giant



“Yet are you so certain, good mistress, you wish to be free of this mist? Is it not better some things remain hidden from our minds?"
"It may be for some, father, but not for us. Axl and I wish to have again the happy moments we shared together. To be robbed of them is as if a thief came in the night and took what's most precious from us."
"Yet the mist covers all memories, the bad as well as the good. Isn't that so, mistress?"
"We'll have the bad ones come back too, even if they make us weep or shake with anger. For isn't it the life we've shared?”

 Kazuo Ishiguro, The Buried Giant



“Some of you will have fine monuments by which the living may remember the evil done to you. Some of you will have only crude wooden crosses or painted rocks, while yet others of you must remain hidden in the shadows of history.”

THE BURIED GIANT, A NOVEL BY KAZUO ISHIGURO 5/5


Having seen a fascinating interview with mr. Ishiguro about this very book, I had high expectations for The Buried Giant. I'm happy to report that my expectations were fulfilled. 

Once again, Kazuo Ishiguro impressed me his subtle and beautiful writing. This novel is a masterpiece.

 The Buried Giant is very emotionally engaging and moving tale of an elderly couple in search for their lost past. 

Axl and Beatrix share a strong connection, but just like everyone else in the novel, they suffer from forgetfulness. 

They are perhaps more honest than the other people in the small Brit village they call a home so they aren't afraid to talk about this phenomenon. 

What is causing people to forget things? That's one of the mysteries of this novel.

“But God will know the slow tread of an old couple’s love for each other, and understand how black shadows make part of its whole.”

 Kazuo Ishiguro, The Buried Giant



This novel is set in post- Arthurian England where magical beings are still a part of daily life (ogres. dragons and pixies) and as such can be labelled as a fantasy novel. 

Sir Gawain is a rather prominent character in this one and the shadow of Arthur (no longer alive) is very present. In The Buried Giant, history is mixed with legends.  Mags and knights, Christianity and pagan religion are coexisting in this novel.

“What use is a god with boundless mercy, sir? You mock me as a pagan, yet the gods of my ancestors pronounce clearly their ways and punish severely when we break their laws. Your Christian god of mercy gives men license to pursue their greed, their lust for land and blood, knowing a few prayers and a little penance will bring forgiveness and blessing.” 

Kazuo Ishiguro, The Buried Giant


 I heard that some readers were put off by the fantasy element of this novel. Please don't be one of those readers and have an open mind. 

If you are a fan of Kazuo, this book won't disappoint you. It might be written in a genre this author hasn't reached for prior to this book but it is very much written in Ishiguro's signature style. 

Moreover, The Buried Giant is in many ways similar to other Ishiguro's novels (and I read quite a few of them).

 His works might differ stylistically but there are some recurring themes in them.

“I was wondering, princess. Could it be our love would never have grown so strong down the years had the mist not robbed us the way it did? Perhaps it allowed old wounds to heal.”


 Memory is an important theme for Ishiguro and it is a central theme in this novel. 

The elderly couple is aware that with finding the truth, they might uncover some traumatic things.

“A couple may claim to be bonded by love, but we boatmen may see instead resentment, anger, even hatred. Or a great barrenness. Sometimes a fear of loneliness and nothing more.”

 Is it better to forget? Is forgetting sometimes necessary for our survival? 

If you know anything about human psychology, you know how selective and fragile our memory really is. 

We often forget to protect ourselves from psychological trauma, to be able to carry our daily lives and yet we must also remember. 

Memories sometimes come back when we least expect them to.


“The stranger thought it might be God himself had forgotten much from our pasts, events far distant, events of the same day. And if a thing is not in God’s mind, then what chance of it remaining in those of mortal men?”

This book speaks about all of that, about trauma of war, about our need to forget and our inability to completely forget. 

More than about post war medieval Britain, this book is really about us as human kind, about what drives us to war, what makes us to seek revenge. 

I remember watching some interviews with Ishiguro where he spoke of collective forgetfulness, not uncommon in post -war Europe (or Japan for that matter). 

It is obviously something that this author has given a lot of thought to. What is the difference between forgiveness and forgetfulness? Can we ever truly forgive? 

This novel  is also a study of a marriage. In any long lasting marriage, there are wounds.

When you spend all of your time with somebody, you're bound to hurt one another- in one way or another. 

The same goes for family, it is source of both peace and conflict, for we all carry conflict within ourselves. I found the writer's approach to memory absolutely fascinating. 


This is quite a psychological novel, don't let the pixies full you into thinking otherwise. There is a great dept to this book, but also great sadness. 


The ending just broke my heart. It is an ambiguous ending, so there is a way to interpret it that is a bit less heart-breaking, but it still broke my heart. 

However, I respect any writer that can make me cry and care deeply about its characters. Highly recommended!

“Boatman, I’ve spoken honestly to you, and I hope it doesn’t cast your earlier judgement of us in doubt. For I suppose there’s some would hear my words and think our love flawed and broken. But God will know the slow tread of an old couple’s love for each other, and understand how black shadows make part of its whole.”

“The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.”

 Paulo Coelho, Veronika Decides to Die

VERONICA DECIDES TO DIE, A NOVEL BY PAULO COELHO, 2.4/ 5
 Veronica Decides to Die is an interesting novel about a young Slovenian lady who decided to commit suicide. I admire Coelho for tackling a difficult topic, that of a suicide and mental illness, but I can't say that I was blown away by this novel or even that I liked it a lot. Somehow it felt a bit superficial. Perhaps I expected too much of it. I suppose one always has some expectations. Perhaps because this is such a serious and difficult topic I expected too much. I can't say that my expectations were met. I wasn't able to really get into the story. I read it and enjoyed it to a degree, but I didn't really feel it. It was alright, but nothing special or noteworthy. Perhaps I just had enough of Coelho and I got bored of his style of writing. It is possible that someone else will like and enjoy this book, so don't take my words for it. If you're curious about this novel, give it a read.  

“People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves.”
 Paulo Coelho, Veronika Decides to Die


This is a beautiful collection of short stories written by a number of notable Italian writers. I was familiar with some of these others, while others were new to me. These short stories are set in the last century and quite often in a time period correlating to WW2. Many of these works (as the title indicated) tell stories of grandfathers and grandmothers.  I really enjoyed them all. Moreover, I found most of them very touching. I can definitely recommend this short story collection. I don’t know if an English translation exists, I had read it in Italian. This collection includes works of the following Italian authors: Angela Bianchini, Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti, Marcello Cesa Bianchi, Giorgio Calcagno, Elena Gianini Belotti, Gina Lagorio, Grazia Livi, Giuseppe Lisi, Marisa madieri, Claudio Magris, Ottiero Ottieri, Pino Roveredo, Enzo Siciliano, Susanna Tamaro, Lidia Storoni Mazzolani, Gregor Von Rezzori, Antonio Tabucchi, Giorgio Voghera. 



POST UPDATE 2024


REVISITING JELSA ON ISLAND HVAR


MORE POSTS ABOUT JELSA AND ISLAND HVAR


ONE YEAR LIVING ON JELSA ISLAND HVAR 2020


VISIT TO HVAR TOWN HERE!
DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF HVAR TOWN? If you want to see more of Hvar town, you are more than welcome to check some of my previous posts about it.

Beautiful bays on island Hvar: 

MORE BEAUTIFUL BAYS ON ISLAND HVAR I HAVE VISITED AND SHARED WITH YOU IN 2019/2020 (Click the links if you want to know more about them):
VISITING MILNA NEAR HVAR
VISITING MINA NEAR JELSA
VISITING STARI GRAD BAYS





 MOON-FACE AND OTHER STORIES, A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES BY JACK LONDON 5/5

This is an excellent collection of short stories by Jack London. I was very impressed with how varied they were in terms of writing style. I didn't know Jack London had so many sides to him. Some of these stories are written in his signature 'naturalism', while others are a bit more philosophical, Gothic and mysterious. Some feature strong willed female protagonists (a fact that somewhat surprised me as I wasn't used to strong females in his works). Some of these stories had a bit of the kind of dark and morbid fascination in them that reminded me of E.A. Poe. Highly recommended!

Moon-Face: A Story of Mortal Antipathy 4/5 Superbly written, this is a first person narration of mortal antipathy. The ending was brilliant but on overall, the story was a bit too dark for me. I felt the ending a bit unfinished, but on the other hand that the whole brilliance and novelty of it- the way the story ended.
The Leopard Man's Story Speaker Icon 3/5 Another well written and paced story. Altogether, quite dark and violent. Not for the sensitive souls.
Local Color 3/5 An interesting read but not very memorable. It evaporated from my mind quickly.
Amateur Night 5/5 What makes a good journalist? This story follows a brave young lady who is determined to get into journalism. Now, this is a story that is still relevant. Sometimes you just have to push your way through and be willing to try new things.
The Minions of Midas 5/5 Very dramatic and nerve wrecking, it reads like a murder mystery but it is also an interesting commentary on social classes and changes as well as revolutionary movements of past times. There is also a chilling aspect to it, a feeling of guilt being the underlining tone of it.
The Shadow and the Flash 5/5 The science fiction element to this story really surprised me. Two men in search of invisibility, two chemists battling it to the finish line. I kept thinking about Asimov while reading this one, wondering whether he had read it. Possibly my favourite story in the collection. The science of it is a bit shaky, but why the story itself? It's absolutely amazing.
All Gold Canyon 4/5 This is London as I know him, describing the battle of man against nature. Excellent descriptions in this one, it is easy to imagine everything that takes place.
Planchette 5/5 A ghost mystery of sorts, this story contains a lot of ambiguity. I was mighty impressed with it. Where does science end and supernatural begin? Or are the two somehow connected? I liked the commentary about the twenty century minds and their belief in science. In many ways, the sub consciousness mind is still a mystery. This story made me think about The Turn of a Screw, for there are a few ways to read and interpret it. Absolutely delicious reading!


As always, thank you for reading and commenting. Have a lovely day and a great start of the week!

Comments

  1. Great outfit :-D

    I don't really read, probably should do more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you. You should do what you like. I've always loved reading. If reading isn't your cup of tea, there are other things out there.

      Delete
  2. Although these aren't my kinds of books I'm always impressed by how much reading you do! With my knee injury I haven't been able to play with the kids as much so I've got a little bit of reading time in while they play in the yard, but not enough to finish a whole book yet this year!

    Hope you had a wonderful weekend! We had a birthday party and went to a theme park with family visiting from Western Australia. It was so fun!

    Away From Blue

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  3. Wonderful you get to read so much when many people no longer read. You are one of the rare ones. Reading through I would say you made a lot though provoking points on your reads one for me was about memories and how our psych works towards forgetting. In my opinion I'd say memories are important no matter how painful. I believe they are a form of propellers, a curse as well as a blessing. That's what memories are to me cos without them we become someone else, we assume another identity, with them we are us, scars, joy, sadness etc al

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  4. This sounds like a great read! I need to check it out! Thanks so much for sharing!
    xoxo, Vanessa
    www.WhatWouldVWear.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I always love to see interviews after reading a book. You always pick the most interesting books.
    XOOX
    Jodie

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have read Jack London, but only "The Call of the Wild" - that book of short stories sounds great.

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  7. that is amazing. I love the content. I am currently reading something similar and am loving it.

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  8. I never read any of these books before, but they all sound really interesting! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on them! I loved reading this post! :)

    melissakacar.blogspot.com

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  9. Reading books is one of the best addict that I can imagine. These books seem interesting for me, especially Kazuo Ishiguro novel.
    Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful day!

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  10. It looks like great books!
    Great photos too.

    https://www.heyimwiththeband.com.br/

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  11. He is a great writer- I didn't read this book but I know the title. It must be full of emotion cause it's about the man who had a war trauma. I a, sure I am gonna like them. I love reading books

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  12. You may be a self-confessed bookworm, but I'm still super impressed by the amount you manage to read. I still haven't finished book 2 of the year. Of your books, I've only read Jack London, and then it was the obvious Call of the Wild, although I do have Martin Eden in a vintage paperback edition, which I don't think I've read. I'm liking the sound of Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant, so I might give this a go. I hope your week is going well? xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you dear. I haven't read that many books this year either, only 3 I think, some of these reviews are from last year.

      Delete
  13. Thank you for sharing! I have been looking for books to read next month. Your pictures are really nice.

    Lindifique

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  14. Thank you for sharing your review - I try to read but only seem to manage to finish books when I'm on holiday!
    On another note, I love your skirt!
    Julia x
    https://www.thevelvetrunway.com/

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  15. Will be adding to cart now. You always read good books.

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  16. Il primo libro me lo leggo volentieri perché da come ne parli deve essere davvero bellissimo, di coehlo non sono una fan perciò ....passo!
    Don't Call Me Fashion Blogger
    Facebook
    Bloglovin'

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  17. Hello dear Ivana, hope you're having a magical 2020 so far! I'm just coming back from a trip and catching up on your site!

    I adore that you're always improving your reading challenge and that is one of my new year resolutions, to read even more and pick nice books everywhere, that's when I have time to read the most: in the line, while I waiting for a friend or at the bus.

    I have heard a lot about Kaizo Ishiguro due to a Mexican booktuber and I have him on my reading list, can't wait to have a book by him, could be the option you are recommending us in this post. I'll tell you if I find something ;)

    Pablo
    www.heyfungi.com

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  18. You are a reading aficionado, my friend! I really need to dive more into reading- I find it so relaxing when I do!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

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  19. Hello
    I don't really like fantastic literature books, it's not my reading genre !! I know Paulo Coelho is Brazilian, writes in Portuguese, I like his writing !! You are a book eater, I would like to read more but I don't have time !!!
    xoxo

    marisasclosetblog.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like some of his novels but sometimes he is a bit repetitive or at least that I how I found him.

      Delete
  20. Wow quite a bit of reading lady! I am reading a book called The Buy Side and it is about insider trading all the other backdoor things that happen on Wall Street. Love your hair like this and it looks great with the coat.

    Allie of
    www.allienyc.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sounds like a great book. It is would be nice to know more about what happens on Wall Street.

      Delete
  21. Looks like a great book! Thanks so much for sharing.

    www.infinitelyposh.com

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  22. Stavolta hai letto tutti libri di autori che conosco (o quasi)! ^^
    Il primo, quello di Ishiguro, mi sembra davvero bello: non ho letto quel romanzo ma conosco l'autore e mi piace molto soprattutto il suo stile di scrttura che è delicato e poetico, quindi credo che lo prenderò al più presto.
    Quello di Paulo Coelo "Veronika decide di morire" l'ho letto non molto tempo fa e non è piaciuto molto nemmeno a me.Nonostante lui sia uno dei miei autori preferiti, ha fatto molto di meglio.
    Anche le "storie brevi di Jack London" le ho lette e mi sono piaciute molto, ma mi piace praticamente tutta la produzione di questo autore, soprattutto perchè amo il genere di storie che scrive, ha delle trovate brillanti e un tipo di scruttura che rende qualunque cosa avventurosa e piena d'azione.
    Invece "tra le rughe, storie di nonni che si fanno ricordare" l'ho iniziato ma poi l'ho lasciato perdere, non mi ha preso proprio. Forse dipende principalmente dal fatto che non sono il mio genere di storie, ma io le ho trovate abbastanza noiose e non mi sono piaciute un granchè...
    Baci!
    S
    https://s-fashion-avenue.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. grazie, e' molto interessante sapere che tu pensi su di questi libri!

      Delete
  23. First of all, you look amazing as always.
    And I have to say, that I think it is really good, that you talk about reading and the books you liked. we should all definetly invest more time in reading.

    take a look at my BLOG and my INSTAGRAM

    ReplyDelete
  24. Kazuo Ishiguro's novels are great books to read, but it's sad, I still have no time to read it them yet.
    Thank you to share about his book.
    I am so impressed how quick your reading :)
    Btw, I love your skirt.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Tiene una pinta estupenda esa lectura y tu look es sensacional ;)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thank you for your recommendations!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Ivanica uvek prikaze odlicne recenzije knjiga!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Your selection always inspire me!
    This time, I am really interested in Kazuo Ishiguro.
    Unfortunately I didn't know him, so I just googled!
    I should read the book this year!!

    Thank you for your comment on my current post about MMA!
    I didn't know Mirko Cro Cop, but my son and friends knew about him well :)
    He is a super hero!

    akiko

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

All your comments mean a lot to me, even the criticism. Naravno da mi puno znači što ste uzeli vrijeme da nešto napišete, pa makar to bila i kritika. Per me le vostre parole sono sempre preziose anche quando si tratta di critiche.

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