CORRELATION BETWEEN TRUTH AND FICTION IN K. ISHIGURO’S NOVEL “THE BURIED GIANT”

Abstract

Purpose. The present paper is aimed at investigating the characteristic features of the author’s perception of history in K. Ishiguro’s novel “The Buried Giant”. The central issue of the article is the problem of correlation between historical facts and fiction. The main focus here is on the artistic means and functions of the historical and fictitious layers and their interconnection. The objectives of the article could be summarized as follows: 1) to determine the characteristic features of the author’s poetics within the postand metamodern discourse; 2) referring to the works on the history of medieval England, to draw a parallel between the generally accepted interpretation of historical events and their interpretation in the novel; 3) to analyze the intertextual connections between the novel and chivalric literature; 4) to determine the specifics of the author’s concept of history in connection with the phenomenon of historical memory.

Methods. The methodological consideration of the study includes a complex combination of the culture-historical and comparative methods, as well as the intertextual approach. The comparison of the factual-historical and artistic plans of K. Ishiguro’s novel has been carried out on the basis of the historical-comparative method. The multicultural identity of the writer, as well as the general philosophical and aesthetic orientation of his works, necessitates the involvement of the cultural approach. Within the research of the intertextual relationship between the novel and Medieval literature, methods of intertextual analysis have been used.

Results. Within the process of our research the peculiarities of the author’s reception of historical material have been defined. In K. Ishiguro’s novel the authentic reconstruction of the particular historical epoch (that is the depiction of daily routine, landscapes, historical events etc.) is combined with an urge to reflect on the contemporary problems. The correlation between such concepts as “history” and “memory” emphasizes the humanistic aspect of the analysed novel (overcoming of interethnic animosity, ending the war, the role of memory in the process of identity formation). The present paper also reveals some characteristic features of K. Ishiguro’s prose such as intertextuality, genre synthesis, the retrospective character of narration, the usage of the concept of unreliable narrator, as well as the appeal to the poetics of Japanese literature, including wabi-sabi, one of the basic principles of Zen-Buddhism.

Conclusions. Turning to the techniques of the postmodern literature straightforwardly, in his last novel K. Ishiguro distances himself from the postmodern concept of history. The analysis of the novel proves that, being a humanist, K. Ishiguro perceives memory and history as a means of creating one’s own identity. The intersection of historical facts and fiction, the coverage of issues related to the role of collective memory in the process of national identity formation allow the author to transcend the traditional limitations of historical prose. However, it should be noted that the problem of correlation between historical facts and fiction in literature is quite complex and requires further consideration.