I loved it. I don't read fantasy but then again this transcended the genre label and fitted in nicely with Ishiguro's long-standing theme of the nebulous nature of memory. I adored this novel and slowed down my reading to savour it and make it last. I do really like Ishiguro's writing style too, which helps. Here's my review from Goodreads and the 50 book challenge thread:
In 6th or 7th century Britain, a mist of forgetfulness has descended upon the land, causing concern to an old married couple Axl and Beatrice on a quest through a world of ogres and dragons to reunite with their long forgotten son, who may or may not exist. Along the way they encounter Arthurian knight Sir Gawain, are attacked by various monks and monsters, team up with a vengeful Saxon warrior, and become embroiled in a plot to kill a powerful she-dragon. We also uncover Axl's heroic story.
Undercutting these adventures is the half-remembered, half-forgotten memory that an awful genocide once decimated the country, that indeed bloodshed is still around the corner despite appearances suggesting peace.
The questions that surface through the mist: Is forgetfulness (historical or intimate amnesia) a necessary condition for peace? Does life retain meaning without shared memories? But at the heart of the novel lies, for me, the tender, gentle love story of the elderly protagonists Axl and Beatrice.
A mesmerising, meditative, thought-provoking novel. I was swept away by it.