- Gail Wilson Kenna
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

This was an acknowledgement of a novelist who has written brilliant, distinct books each time he writes one. I’ve remained with Kazuo through his literary journey. That is… until he headed into the Middle Ages & Arthurian fantasy. ( Note: My enchantment with King Arthur ended with the televised Robin Hood. Which is to say the genre of Fantasy is one I skip, along with Science Fiction. (Note: I was a devoted reader of Doris Lessing until she flew out into space. But after a series there, she returned to realism on earth and won the Nobel.)

Why did I not want to unbury Kazuo’s giant in his Anglo-Saxon 6th-7th century novel? Because the voices that told the story are “ham-handed, stilted, and tiresome.” I’ve borrowed these adjectives from New York Times literary critic, Michiko Kakutani, whose review was Feb. 23, 2015. That same month two other Times reviewers discussed The Buried Giant. Alexandra Atler’s includes an interview with Ishiguro, which I was glad to read. I especially appreciated Lorna Ishiguro, who spoke candidly about Kazuo’s first stab at this novel. She read the opening pages and said to him, “None of this can be seen by anybody.” Her husband put the book aside and did not return to it for six years. The next time, Kazuo did not show his wife the novel until it was finished. Then together they arrived at the novel’s title while on a road trip.
In the interview, I appreciated this famous writer’s words about aging. At 60, he feels his mental powers slipping. That was ten years ago, when he said: “Everything’s declining. I used to be able to hold really complicated things in my head at once, complicated worlds. Now if I have an idea, I write it down.” Reassuring for me to read this!

I’m glad I skimmed this 2015 novel, and that my friend with a NYT subscription sent me the three reviews. In thinking about this period of history and “Old English,” I remembered a work of Fantasy I greatly appreciate. I speak of the late John Gardner’s Grendel. This small work of genius is the story of Beowulf, but told from his mother’s point of view.
To be continued next week…