# Is "The Buried Giant" by Kazuo Ishiguro a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber and Faber, 2015) is identified by: Faber & Faber, London, 2015. The Faber & Faber London 2015 printing is the true first; Alfred A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Faber & Faber, London, 2015
- First edition, first impression
- The copyright page carries Faber's characteristic even-then-odd number line reading 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 (ending in '1'), the standard first-printing key for this house
- Issued in publisher's boards, approximately 345 pages, in the original pictorial dust jacket which should carry its printed price on the front flap (price present rather than clipped is the collectible state, though a clipped jacket does not affect edition identity)
- Signed first impressions were issued for the launch; some retailer-exclusive copies had sprayed page edges
- Publisher imprint reads Faber and Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Kazuo Ishiguro |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Year | 2015 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Faber & Faber, London, 2015 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Faber & Faber, London, 2015. First edition, first impression. The copyright page carries Faber's characteristic even-then-odd number line reading 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 (ending in '1'), the standard first-printing key for this house. Issued in publisher's boards, approximately 345 pages, in the original pictorial dust jacket which should carry its printed price on the front flap (price present rather than clipped is the collectible state, though a clipped jacket does not affect edition identity). Signed first impressions were issued for the launch; some retailer-exclusive copies had sprayed page edges.

## Is this the true first?
The Faber & Faber London 2015 printing is the true first; Alfred A. Knopf New York issued the first US edition in 2015, published nearly simultaneously, so confirm the Faber imprint and London place of publication on the title and copyright pages to distinguish the true first from the US first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A number line that does not descend to and end in '1' (for example one beginning 2 4 6 8) indicates a later Faber impression; the US edition carries the Knopf imprint and a New York place of publication.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Buried Giant* by Kazuo Ishiguro a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-buried-giant
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.