As I finished the Buried Giant I had some very mixed feelings about the ending. My Grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease about a year and a half ago and we have seen him deteriorate rather quickly. As I was reading this novel I could not help but think of him and how he can’t remember the most important memories of his past. He often asks who my Grandmother is and who is own kids are. You can see the look of frustration in his face when he walks into a room full of friends and family and cannot place one name to a face.
At the end of the novel Axle and Beatrice regain their memories and they rediscover all of the horrible things that happens and what led to the mist in the first place. They remember their son’s death, Beatrice’s affair and Axle terrible attack on the Saxons. With this comes up all of the tension and anxiety that the mist helped alleviate. As I read this I wondered what would happen if my own Grandfather was able to get him memory back. I wondered how he would look upon the last year and a half and if he would feel guilty. It has been such a strain on my Grandmother and the whole family is just watching hopelessly as he decline. I could see him feeling some sort of regret and guilt because he was always the one to take care of the family, not the other way around. I also wonder if he would start doing thing any differently. If he saw what life was like without a memory, would that trigger him to do things differently if his memory was regain? All of these questions ran through my head as a read this book and it made me sad but also hopeful as to what could happen if one could regain all the memories that they had lost.