The oneiric space of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel 'The buried giant'

The article provides a detailed study of the fictional space of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel The Buried Giant. There are identified the features that give this aspect of the chronotope of the novel an oneiric character. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of certain loci of the novel's fictional space, their toponymic and semiotic characteristics. Among the artistic means that actualize the oneiric space in the text, there are distinguished the peculiarities of the narrative level (first-person narration, representation of the events through the consciousness of the characters) and the features of the artistic expression and visualization of the novel's fictional world: incorporation of mythological elements, metaphorization and generalization of the fictional space, emphasis on its horizontal and vertical organization. Some of the mythological characters are considered in the paper in terms of the additional meanings they contribute to the novel. Some motifs actualized by incorporation of mythological elements are also examined. A comprehensive analysis allowed us to reveal that the oneiric nature determines the topological characteristics of the novel. In addition, the oneiric space in The Buried Giant performs the function of representing the work of mnemonic mechanisms, which determines the connection of the considered aspect of poetics with the author's intention, as well as with the theme of memory, characteristic not only of the analyzed novel but of the writer's works as a whole. The study has also revealed an analogy in the representation of the chronotope with previous works by Kazuo Ishiguro, which allows us, among other things, to conclude that the actualization of the oneiric space is an important feature of the author's artistic method.