Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps I missed something.
Review: I couldn't make the connection between the rave reviews on the dust jacket and the writing within. Since the book is loosely a mystery, I wasn't able to toss it aside -- naturally, I wanted to know what happened to Christopher's parents. In the meantime, though, my reading was peppered with exclamations of disbelief and disgust as I forged my way through the book. I never did decide whether the tepid writing and unnecessarily obtuse timeline were more frustrating, or whether it was the ridiculous behavior of the narrator, whose decision-making abilities bordered those of a squirrel. I found the ending to be trite, and many of the characters hollow. Overall, not a positive impression of my first Ishiguro.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Having read Remains of the Day I was excited to see that he had written a new book. The first chapters were interesting as they described his boyhood friend and their days of play.The final chapters were disappointing. Expecting to find his parents after 22+ years of no contact really left me amazed that he expected to find them. Improbable and this got in the way of the enjoyment of the story. It was as though it was written by a student of his, using his signature. I won't rush to read the next one if this is what I can expect.
Rating: 
Summary: Ultimately Unsatisfying
Review: I was drawn to this book by generally good reviews, the author's prior work and the storyline. I found that I could not put the book down, but believed the plot to be too contrived. I understand that Dickens can get away with charaters popping back into a storyline at the most unexpected time, but when the protagonist in this book finds a long lost childhood friend in the middle of a warzone, it's a bit much. (Maybe he's not who he seems?)And while the narrator claims to be a great detective, there is no evidence of how he works. (Read A Conspiracy of Paper for a much better read about a London detective. Or read Empire of the Son about a boy's traumatic experience in wartorn China.) The narrator's mother also suffers a rather too purient and sadistic demise, and her ending is straight out of "The Other SIde of Midnight" by Sheldon (Do all traumatized women end up cared by nuns??) I enjoy this author's work and his mannered approach, but this isn't his best effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful follow up to Ishiguro's previous novels
Review: I just finished When We Were Orphans. I love the limpid beauty of Ishiguro's writing and the way he seems like an odd (and unique) amalgam of Kafka and George Eliot. I have been monitoring the NY Times Book Review, waiting for Ishiguro's next novel after having read and been mesmerized by the Unconsoled, which I had however approached dubiously, fearing it would be a long, confusing slog. Neither of these novels affect me that way. I think that is because Ishiguro writes with such intense and tender emotion for his brave, driven, thwarted characters. I also find both of these novels so visual and found myself imagining the scenes that might be filmed if they were made into movies. I am sorry to have to go back to waiting for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasant but Disappointing Read
Review: I was looking forward to this book and while I found it enjoyable, I was disappointed. I love the style and tone of the book. The pace is a bit slow. The story, while loaded with potential, was a bit absurd, with this seemingly intelligent man actually believing his mother is alive after many many years in apparent captivity. I love the grace and style of Ishiguro and when I finished the book, I felt I missed something. Maybe I will find it in a reread.
Rating:
Summary: I like this book... wait a minute! I really don't!
Review: That was my thinking while reading Mr. Ishiguro's novel. I put it on my reading list because I had enjoyed his Remains of the Day and thought that a writer of his merit doing a detective story might be very interesting. And the first chapters were quite good and all through the book his descriptive language was very poetic and I enjoyed it. (Hence the 2 stars) However... SOME SPOILERS BELOW It was his characters I could not stand. As the story progressed (with large, odd leaps of time), the main character, Detective Chris Banks, believed after 20 or more years after his parents disappeared that he could find them after the local authorities 20 years ago hadn't found a clue? And yes, as the author explained in a talk radio interview, Banks is not well in his beliefs, but I didn't go in expecting it, so when he started to basically have a temper tantrum 3/4 of the way through the novel because a helpful soldier was "hampering his case" by not going into the war zone with him to track down his parents, I really began to dislike Banks. Then the final straw that broke the camel's back was when Bank's uncle explains everything in one of the last chapters. The author, in order to make the man ever the worse villain, gives the man lines like, "I pleasured myself thinking about her (Banks' mother) with him (a warload she was sold into slavery to)." I mean, PLEASE! I don't mind lewd material at all, but this was so heavy-handed in its use that I threw up my hands at that point. I will be more careful the next time when considering Mr. Ishiguro's next work to read. I could have done without a "brilliant" delusional detective and his sadistic uncle.
Rating: 
Summary: Written by a Master; but not a Masterpiece
Review: After five years, Ishiguro has as last produced a new novel. The protagonist is Christopher Banks, an English detective who moves through the elite of London society, enjoying much respect. Through flashbacks, however, we learn that Christopher's past is a most unusual one. As a boy he grew up in the International Settlement in interwar Shanghai, where his father worked for a British trading company, complicit in importing opium to China, and his mother was a morally upstanding lady who abhorred the opium trade. There, Christopher led a rather sheltered existence with his Japanese playmate Akira. When his father disappears, the two children begin to play a different game -- that of being detectives who will root out the evil forces and rescue Christopher's father. When Christopher's mother also disappears, the boy's world completely falls apart. Having lost both parents, he must also leave Shanghai and his friend to return to England and be raised by an aunt. Thus the narrative jumps between the present -- Christopher as an adult detective in postwar London -- and his past as a child in Shanghai. When Christopher decides to return to Shanghai after so many years to search for his parents, the true story begins and the adventure is as much psychological as physical. After so long, will he discover his parents -- or himself? Ishiguro's novels have been described by the term 'unreliable narrator', in that the reader must struggle to discern the narrative from 'the truth', as the narrators are constantly engaged in repressing their memories and self-deception. In an interview, he rejected this interpretation of his latest work, describing it instead as a 'postmodern' work. He has tried to depict reality not only as it appears - but as it is - to the confused and troubled narrator. Yet it is questionable to what extent he succeeds - and many may finish the book troubled by its simplistic denouement. The first half of the book (while Banks is in London) is slow, but the pace picks up in the second half, where Ishiguro begins to employ more readily his favourite brand of symbolism, such as the repeated imagery of looking through glass with distorted vision that then comes into focus. Unfortunately, humor -- so important in Remains and The Unconsoled -- is strangely absent from Orphans. I didn't so much as chuckle until page 213. Thematically, 'Orphans' borrows much from 'The Unconsoled' -- the obsession with one's parents, the narrator's 'powers', the surrealist situations, the problem of differentiating between reality and delusion. Unfortunately, themes aren't all that's borrowed. Ishiguro also reuses several images taken directly from 'The Unconsoled', which makes one almost feel like he is plagiarizing his own work. Even worse, these images (such as the barrier blocking the protagonist's way), which were strong in 'The Unconsoled' seem watered down and trite in 'Orphans'. In general, the style of 'Orphans' does not reveal the same attention to detail and smoothness characteristic of Ishiguro's first four novels, which made them all -- in their own way -- masterpieces. The characterization is very poor; all the main characters seem cardboard -- an utter contrast from 'Remains of the Day'. The disappointing style is somewhat tempered by the compelling theme. As before, it is a question of identity, but this time the painful struggle for identity made by those who have been orphaned. Readers will find this book thought-provoking, but it is not up to Ishiguro's high standards, and ultimately it is unsatisfying. Concerned about the number of people who couldn't read or understand 'The Unconsoled', it seems Ishiguro has adopted a strategy of 'dumbing down' to his audience. This is unfortunate. To see Ishiguro at his best, I would suggest 'Remains of the Day' or 'The Unconsoled', and I would suggest reading them twice - at least - to see how carefully and masterfully he writes.
Rating:
Summary: The Emperor has no clothes!
Review: The only reason I read this lame novel is because of the reviews it received. Boy, was I misled. What are you people thinking? This was an absolutely boring and stupid story. In an effort to justify your glowing reviews, you artsy intellectual types are trying to invent non-existent motives and intentions behind Ishiguro's work. Lets face it, the book made no sense and the plot lines were difficult and pointless. For example, after several years the "great detective" Christopher Banks still thinks kidnappers are holding his parents in a house that is in the middle of a war zone! Give me a break! The love interest is equally stupid. Every two to four years the main character has a breif chance incounter with an aggresive female social climber and from this we are to assume that they are deeply in love--wow!! What a leap!! Now I know that some of you philisophical types are thinking that I just don't get the deeper underlying meanings behind the trauma that afflicts Christopher Banks. But how can I invent some explanation that is not made clear by the author. If this book was as good as some of the reviews suggest, then why are its sales so poor? The reason why this book is no longer on the front racks of my local Barnes and Noble book store is because it is bad! My only consolation is that I was able to check it out of the local library (there was no wait to check it out) and I did not have to waste money on a purchase. Dr. Robert D. Petersen Ph.D. Educational Administration
Rating:
Summary: Shanghaied!
Review: A major disappointment -- A fan of Ishiguro's earlier work, I really wanted to like this book and forced myself to plow on through but found so many elements that were outrageously ridiculous (the use of the magnifying glass by the adult Christopher, for example; I found myself laughing out loud!) and unforgiveably irrelevant (the fits of giggling by Christopher and Akira in the ruins) that any loyalty I had developed for these characters in the first half of the book was completely destroyed in the second.
Rating:
Summary: Slow, but worthwhile?
Review: I so enjoyed "Remains of the Day," but had a lot of trouble getting involved with the characters and story, or lack of coherent story line, of "When We Were Orphans." It picked up speed and interest toward the end, but I remain confused as to who these people actually were and why we should care about their quest.
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