Imagine trying to write a love story about a married and aging couple from the Middle Ages. Ishigura’s couple is Axl and Beatrice. There is somewhat of a supernatural element as the result of the dragon Querig whose breath permeates the land and causes people to forget their past. At several points, Beatrice asks what would we be without our memories, what meaning could we apply to ourselves if we did not know what we had thought and done over the course of our lives. At first, I thought this theme might be related to the ongoing Alzheimer’s crisis in the current day world, but it seems really to be about suppressing and recovering painful memories in our present lifetimes.
Axl and Beatrice were going on a trip in an attempt to find their son who has long been gone from home, and memories of him have only begun to resurface. It is quite dangerous to leave their home village, but they are not happy there, and they wanted to connect with their son, forgetting that they had learned that after leaving the village, he had died from the plague. While traveling, we encounter the hatefulness of the Britons and the Saxons for each other, as well as the son’s hate for his mother as the result of an affair she had. However, it is Axl’s and Beatrice’s love which seems to win out in the end. The language of Ishiguro is beautiful, so if you’re just looking for our usual review of murder mysteries, this is not a story for you. However, I do find it refreshing to stray off the usual path of my reading, at least occasionally. This story gets my recommendation.
No comments:
Post a Comment