When We Were Orphans

Rating:
Summary: A real piece of work
Review: When an off-kilter investigator goes to Shanghai to uncover the mystery surrounding his parents' death, all bets are loose. Is the story you're reading the actual account, or is it all the figment of the leading character's imagination. You'll just have to read and find out. man oh man this is an awesome read!

Rating:
Summary: Cool, complex book
Review: You may find this book confusing for a while, but it is an awesomely written piece of work. Do not miss out on reading this incredible book.

Rating:
Summary: Not too sure who was deluded
Review: A good read but ultimately disappointing. This book doesn't seem to live up to the writer's very readable narrative style, even if one forgives the writer for personal plagiarism as he uses a technique which is basic to the story that he has employed in other novels. His method is to reveal the deluded characteristics of the protagonist through the eyes of others; a technique he admittedly does very well. Apart from this, either the protagonist is out of touch with reality or is indeed one very admirably fellow who has made it big as a detective in England and English society. Kazuo Ishiguro wants it both ways which doesn't work. He also seems to have slipped up by having another minor character called Grayson equally not part of this world. The protagonist's mental stability is so way out at times that it affects some scenes that take place in prewar Shanghai. These scenes are otherwise compulsive reading but sadly degenerate into sheer farce and loose it.

I found it very difficult to go along with the mother's story which was claimed to be unavoidable by the uncle... I don't want to give anything away, but really? The uncle's actions didn't ring true either. Also, was it that difficult for a high swinger of English society in those days to find the cash for a trip back to the UK from Shanghai?

The premise, if I understood correctly, that orphans suffer and have to make the transition into adult life to live happily ever after; well, all that seems to be stuck on as an extra though at the end of the tale. But never-the-less this novel had me turning pages into the early hours which shows that the author must have got something right.


Rating:
Summary: A very complex story with excellent character study...
Review: This is one of the most complex novels I have read in quite a long time. There are bits and pieces that don't seem coherent at first, but then they make perfect sense. And that is how I was sucked into this fascinating novel. When We Were Orphans tells the story of Christopher Banks, a young boy whose parents disappear under mysterious circumstances while they live in Shanghai. Christopher is sent back to England to live, where he grows up and where the mystery of his parents' disappearance begins to erode his grip on reality. Christopher achieves some notoriety in London (or at least he thinks he has) as a private investigator. He returns after many years to Shanghai to finally try and solve the mystery surrounding his parents' disappearance. He believes he knows what happened to them, even before arriving back in Shanghai. It is his misguided beliefs that lead him into an almost Kafkaesque spiral into unreality and delusion. This section of the book must be read as a partial deluded episode because much of what happens is implausible. The book and Christopher ultimately return to reality and we understand at least part of the truth of Christopher's life and what his parents' outcome had been.

The story is told in first person narrative, and almost from the start Ishiguro tips us off to the idea that Christopher may not be telling us the whole truth, that he may not be able to grasp the whole truth. Christopher's story and the way he tells it is fascinating. Ishiguro is able to navigate seamlessly from time frame to time frame. I thought this was a brilliant work, not as a detective novel, but as a character study of someone who has been fooling himself his entire life. Some readers may find the narrative and the events confusing at times, I did, but I advise readers not to give up on it. This seemingly confusing story is actually an extraordinary, literary experience. When We Were Orphans is one the most thought-provoking books I've read. I recommend this beautiful, staggering novel.