The third novel by Kazuo Ishiguro to have been published by the Folio Society is 2015’s The Buried Giant (they had earlier published The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go). The book was issued in 2023 at a publisher’s list price of £75.00. That locates the book towards the more premium end of Folio Society’s non-limited offerings, in return for which we normally expect a few upgrades. Below I will be taking a look at this edition to see whether it delivers.
One immediately obvious upgrade is the slipcase whose muted green sides have been printed with a scene depicting medieval figures in a desolate landscape, and over-blocked with a gold geometric pattern. The slipcase is no sturdier than a standard Folio offering (that is to say, serviceable rather than excellent), but the matte paper in which the slipcase is wrapped feels fairly nice to the touch. It is lined with white paper (I would have preferred black).
Inside is a book bound in full red cloth. This is printed with a similar desolate landscape scene as the slipcase, wrapping around both front and back boards. But now some new elements are revealed, such as an ominous skull peering out of the hillside. It’s as if removing the slipcase has revealed the sinister true nature of the landscape beneath. More obviously, the figures and a few other details in the design have here been blocked and slightly debossed in a brighter shade of red. This is a visually arresting graphic presentation and a definite high point of the edition for me. Although contrasting, the slipcase and book work well together—probably because red and green are complementary colours. The title is stamped in bright red on the spine, with the author’s name printed in black. Meanwhile, the sewn binding has green end bands and we have green end papers that are printed in metallic gold with a geometric design similar to that found on the slipcase. The endpapers are made from a satisfyingly heavy stock. Both binding and printing were executed in Wales by Gomer Press Ltd.
Like most modern Folio Society editions, the paper is Abbey Wove, a decent acid free surface that is a clear cut above that to be found in many trade editions, even if it does not provide the tactile delights of a fine hand- or mould-made rag paper. The trim size is 23cm × 16cm (9″× 6¼″) and there are 320 pages, including an original introduction by Daniel Kehlmann. The introduction warns readers: “The Buried Giant is a novel best approached without any prior knowledge about its characters and storyline. Therefore the ideal way to treat this introduction is to skip it, read the novel first and then come back to this point.” This warning is appreciated, but then why didn’t Folio Society just print Kehlmann’s text at the end of the book as an afterword? In any event, it’s a nice introduction that reflects on some of the novel’s themes and emotional notes.
The text of the edition is set in Arno with enough line spacing to make everything comfortably readable. Display elements are typeset in Sabbath Black, a thematically appropriate face that appears vaguely Anglo Saxon. (Remark: an Internet search for Sabbath Black turns up a blackletter font that does not appear to be the same as the face used here).
The edition has been illustrated by Jana Heidersdorf, who provided seven full-page colour plates. These include a frontispiece and one two-page spread. The images successfully evoke a pastoral world on the boundary between reality and fantasy, just like the one inhabited by the novel’s protagonists. They are printed on bound-in sheets of satin paper and the reproduction is good. Something I do appreciate about Folio Society books is that their colour plates usually look clear and vibrant and this edition is no exception. In addition to the colour illustrations, there are four full-page black and white images that open each of the book’s four parts. These were a nice addition that also connect well to the book’s themes. One of the figures depicted in bright red on the front board also appears as a small grey silhouette on the title page.
The Buried Giant marked a new foray by Ishiguro into the fantasy genre. But, for much of the book, one has the sense that the generic ingredients (dragons, ogres, Arthurian myth) are but a surface veneer concealing a tale of love, loss, and the desperate battle to hold on to personal connections as they slip away. The novel therefore might have more in common with The Remains of the Day than is first apparent. This, then, is a literary brand of fantasy fiction—and is all the better for it. To my mind, the pacing was a little uneven: while the second half of the book was more conceptually interesting, it also felt a bit less focused and more meandering. Nevertheless, it delivers us to a satisfying, and heart-wrenchingly bittersweet conclusion.
I think this is a nice edition. I especially like the bold design and the contrasting slipcase. The illustrations were nice and I appreciated the inclusion of the additional part title illustrations. But I thought the book is a bit overpriced. There used to be clear water between Folio’s standard editions at about £40–50 and their slightly higher end offerings at £70-80. In the latter category were some true greats like The Call of Cthulhu, Moby-Dick, and Dune, all often cited among Folio’s best work. As an edition, The Buried Giant doesn’t quite feel on that level. I’d liken it more to something like Rebecca or Shackleton’s Boat Journey—both great editions that are among the best in their price bracket, but both listed at £47.95. Given that Folio’s prices seem to be going up in general, I’d love to see them aim to make the quality of design and construction of The Buried Giant their standard target, and pull out a few more stops when editions are singled-out for a higher price point. ■
Where to buy
At the time of writing, this book is in print and available directly from the publisher.
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Miscellaneous
The Folio Society released the following video to publicise the book’s release:
The Ubiquitous Book blog 