The Buried Giant
#8403.59 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2015 Reading commitment Low Kazuo Ishiguro Last reviewed 2026-10-25
Overview
Kazuo Ishiguro's seventh novel, The Buried Giant (2015), is set in Britain just after the death of King Arthur, in a land shrouded by a mist that causes memory loss, where an elderly couple set out in search of their son. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, calling it a slow, patient and precise novel, while other early reviews were mixed.
Historical fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Buried Giant Kazuo Ishiguro
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Buried Giant | 2015 | 1 | core | 3.59 (119,168 ratings) |
Kazuo Ishiguro's standalone.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Buried Giant? The Buried Giant's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Buried Giant finished? Complete (2015).
- How much reading does The Buried Giant take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is The Buried Giant ranked? #840 in this site's official ranking, based on 119,168 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #840?
Ranked #840 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.59 across 1 core book.
- Backed by 119k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #839, All the Birds in the Sky (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 119k ratings · Ranks #840 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award (Adult Literature), 2016: finalist: The Buried Giant
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.59 across 119,168 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: The Buried Giant (Kazuo Ishiguro) accepted 2026-10-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- BookBrowse: The Buried Giant (Publishers Weekly starred review excerpt) Tier 2
- Christian Science Monitor: mixed early reviews of The Buried Giant Tier 2
- SuperSummary: The Buried Giant (setting) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-25
Rule: Core Canon = The Buried Giant (2015), a standalone novel.