When We Were Orphans

Rating:
Summary: Hey guys, it's a satire!
Review: Having read at least a dozen customer reviews of 'Once we were Orphans', I am mystified that no-one sees it as the none-too-subtle political satire that it is. Why does everyone insist on reading this book so literally? Forget about Christopher as unreliable narrator, damaged child, delusional famous detective, etc. Christopher is England, once proud coloniser, now reduced to doing deals with the Communists, the Japanese, whoever, whatever it takes. His parents, mysteriously abducted years before, represent the golden age of colonialism. They have been snuffed out by emerging political forces: the rise of Japan, the internal struggle between Communism and anti-Communism, England's various humiliations in the theatres of war.
Akira, his loved/hated childhood friend, represents the formerly humble, yet always troublesome, Japan, who, when the going gets tough after they are reunited in Ishiguro's surreal Shanghai warzone, is a burden, and possibly, a traitor. Christopher sloughs him off without a second thought after being rescued and returned to the British Consulate.
Who is Sarah, his would-be lover, whom he also abandons at a crucial moment? I think she represents other British interests in the Far East that are expendable, even while they are tempting (commerce perhaps?). Christopher's ultimate allegiances are to his parents (political interests), who will serve his interests in the longer term.
Does anyone else agree with this analysis of this intriguing book?

Rating:
Summary: Even Booker winners have deadlines
Review: My previous experience of Ishiguro is the peerless Remains of the Day, which is one of the best books I have read. Like Stevens in "Remains", Banks (the principal character of this novel) is a damaged person, damaged by childhood loss rather than by Stevens' obsessive sense of duty. However, unlike Stevens, Banks seems to be recovering, reaching out but attracting, unsurprisingly, other damaged people, an orphan socialite as an object of desire, and an orphan adoptee. Banks's halting steps towards reconnection with the world are riveting, conveyed as they are in the careful and beautiful prose that is this writer's trademark. Perhaps we are headed for a believable denouement, where a subtle but satisfying resolution (from within) redeems Banks somewhat, much as Stevens bantering gave us hope for him at the close of Remains. Perhaps this will take the form of Banks coming to terms with his loss, and seeing that his fascination with detection is a attempt to "save" his parents in a way he could not do as a child.

Well, no. The resolution of the mystery of Banks's parents' disappearance is fairly unbelievable, and I mean unbelievable in ways that cannot be explained by the unreliable narrator device. The babblings of consular official Grayson and the uncertain identity of the soldier whom Banks rescues merely add to the confusion that permeates the last third of the book. However, if Banks has "lost it" as he wanders through the Shanghai war zone, he seems to have completely regained it by the last chapter, where there is a balanced and sensible look at the future by the principal character, in a world that confirms the surprising resolution of the plot and therefore, to some extent, confirms Banks's memory. A narrator of variable unreliability, perhaps? Or is it "all a dream", right down to Banks' Sherlockian detective exploits?

**SPOILER(?)**
Or perhaps the publisher called up one day and said "Look Kazuo - I don't care how you end it - I need to see the ms by next Thursday". Cue Uncle Philip.

Rating:
Summary: Vague, very vague, but maybe this was intentional
Review: The narrator in the book is Christopher Banks, an English boy born in Shanghai at the beginning of the 20th century. As a small child, his parents disappear and Christopher is shipped to England. There he pursues a career as private detective with the ultimate aim to go back to Shanghai to solve the disappearance of his parents. This all sounds like your average detective novel, but there is more to it.

Already in England you get the idea that something is not completely right with Christopher: he is too much of a name dropper, claiming to be in contact with very famous people when he is only a young detective. Things get worse in Shanghai and it seems that Christopher is not-too-slowly but very surely losing his grip on reality in a town which is at that moment surreal itself because of the attack by the Japanese army (the year is 1937). The main problem was that I had the idea that Christopher was losing his bearings, but that I was not sure of it. This left me with a rather unsatisfied feeling after finishing the book.

Rating:
Summary: Traveling With Christopher
Review: Christopher Banks is our rigidly controlled narrator in "When We Were Orphans." He assures us he is at all times factual. But Christopher's "facts" are strangely skewed. He tells us he is not only a "famous" detective, but has international renown, is celebrated in all the newspapers (front page) for his sleuthing abilities, and has become fabulously wealthy at his trade. The reader gradually realizes what a multi-layered story this is. We first see Christopher as he sees himself, then as others see him, and lastly and most importantly; how we see him.

The narrative depicts Christopher's vividly recalled childhood in Shanghai, his parents kidnapping when he was nine, his adolescence in England and his quest to find out what happened to his parents.

His return to war-torn Shanghai is a brilliant piece of writing. Christopher becomes almost hallucinogenic, and his experiences become increasingly surreal and bizarre. As a reader, I was exhilarated reading the fantastic experiences while, at the same time, trying to make factual sense of them. At a certain point, I became one with Christopher and lived the story with him. The climax is exquisitely satisfactory.

Mr. Ishiguro is a master of prose; there is a rightness and fluidity in his writing style that makes the reading experience transcendently pleasurable. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent prose - "so-so" story...
Review: "When we were orphans" was the first Kazuo Ishiguro book I read. I had heard quite a lot about his past work, so I was looking forward to reading the book. As always when you read a novel by a "new" author, it takes a few pages before you understand the author's style. I quite liked his way of writing from page one.

We enter the story in London in the 1930'ies. We are introduced to Christopher Banks, a rather (according to himself) famous detective. As we get to know him, we learn of his tragic background. Christopher was born in Shanghai. His Dad, a British businessman, was involved in the opium trade, and his mother on the other hand, was lobbying against the opium trade... As a 9-year old, both his parents got kidnapped under mysterious circumstances. First his dad, and then later his mom as well. When neither of them returned, Christopher got sent back to England. Here he tried to fit in the best he could, both in the British school-system and in life in general.

This novel is written entirely in first person tale. Very early in this book we pick up that the narrator, Christopher Banks, is a rather unreliable source for information. He has a somewhat "selective" memory. Where his old classmate remembered him a an "oddball" - Christopher denied that, saying "You must mistake me for someone else.." (Remembering himself to have been "one of the boys"... and getting along well with everyone).

As an adult he is still troubled by his parents disappearing. He decides to return to Shanghai to try to find his parents.

Up until this point I have enjoyed the story. But from here..

The story starts to derail, and it falls completely apart as we hear Christopher describing how he is walking around in the war-zone (bullets whining past him here and there) accompanied by his long lost Japanese friend, Akira, searching for the house where his parents are believed to be held hostages. And the novel looses every little tad of hope I had, when his "uncle" is revealing to us what really happened when his parents disappeared. It just got too unbelievably. Rather unfortunate, in this novel, Ishiguro's ability as a storyteller doesn't quite match his ability as a writer.

So even if I am not too excited about this novel, I have also bought "The Unconsoled". (And I did that *after* I had read "When we were orphans").

Rating:
Summary: Excellent prose - "so-so" story...
Review: "When we were orphans" was the first Kazuo Ishiguro book I read. I had heard quite a lot about his past work, so I was looking forward to reading the book. As always when you read a novel by a "new" author, it takes a few pages before you understand the author's style. I quite liked his way of writing from page one.

We enter the story in London in the 1930'ies. We are introduced to Christopher Banks, a rather (according to himself) famous detective. As we get to know him, we learn of his tragic background. Christopher was born in Shanghai. His Dad, a British businessman, was involved in the opium trade, and his mother on the other hand, was lobbying against the opium trade... As a 9-year old, both his parents got kidnapped under mysterious circumstances. First his dad, and then later his mom as well. When neither of them returned, Christopher got sent back to England. Here he tried to fit in the best he could, both in the British school-system and in life in general.

This novel is written entirely in first person tale. Very early in this book we pick up that the narrator, Christopher Banks, is a rather unreliable source for information. He has a somewhat "selective" memory. Where his old classmate remembered him a an "oddball" - Christopher denied that, saying "You must mistake me for someone else.." (Remembering himself to have been "one of the boys"... and getting along well with everyone).

As an adult he is still troubled by his parents disappearing. He decides to return to Shanghai to try to find his parents.

Up until this point I have enjoyed the story. But from here..

The story starts to derail, and it falls completely apart as we hear Christopher describing how he is walking around in the war-zone (bullets whining past him here and there) accompanied by his long lost Japanese friend, Akira, searching for the house where his parents are believed to be held hostages. And the novel looses every little tad of hope I had, when his "uncle" is revealing to us what really happened when his parents disappeared. It just got too unbelievably. Rather unfortunate, in this novel, Ishiguro's ability as a storyteller doesn't quite match his ability as a writer.

So even if I am not too excited about this novel, I have also bought "The Unconsoled". (And I did that *after* I had read "When we were orphans").

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful storytelling!
Review: Christopher Banks, a well known detective living in England, reminisces about his childhood in Shanghai. He and his Japanese friend Akira enjoy long hours together of creative play, including creating a detective story explaining Christopher's parents' sudden disappearance. The newly-orphaned Christopher is sent to England to be raised by an elderly aunt. As an adult, he makes it a priority to determine the true story of what
happened to his parents.

WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS is a story of friendship, dedication, curiosity, human relations, betrayal, and a child's understanding of his parents' world. In addition, it's a glimpse into the fascinating life of Shanghai and the interactions of its British, Japanese, and Chinese population. The pace of the novel is outstanding. It starts out very leisurely. As the story develops, the action moves steadily faster. At the bittersweet ending, the novel softly releases the reader with much about which to think. A thoroughly satisfying story with a rich plot, this novel is fine writing, indeed!

Rating:
Summary: Easily Forgotten
Review: Not as good as Ishiguro's other works. His very best was Artist of the Floating World, followed by Remains of the Day. This book follows the career of a Shangai-raised Englishmen who becomes a detective. Like all Ishiguro's book, the narrarator has exagerated sense of formality. The sense of denial and the sort of "elephant in the middle of the room" truths that lead to great ending in Ishiguro's other books never materialize in this one.

Rating:
Summary: How not to use The Unreliable Narrator
Review: This is the first Ishiguro book I've read, and while it contains the precise elegant prose I had anticipated, the story itself collapses under the strain of Ishiguro's awkward and inept use of the unreliable narrator. The unreliable narrator is a familiar narrative technique, perhaps more so in film (eg. The Usual Suspects, Memento) than in literature, and for whatever reason, many readers seem to have missed the obvious-and oftimes clumsy-clues Ishiguro provides. However, it's clear early on in this faux mystery that not all Christopher Banks tells the reader is entirely to be trusted.

The novel revolves around events in Banks's childhood in the International Settlement in Shanghai, a few years after the turn of the century. This is an idyllic time, as the days drift by while he plays with his Japanese neighbor Akira. In a bizarre turn of events, his father, who works for one of the large British opium importers disappears-kidnapped according to Banks (although we never hear of a ransom note). Soon after this, his mother disappears as well, also kidnapped we are told. When neither reappears, the boy is sent to England, where he tries to fit into British schools and society. This portion is rather interesting, as it no doubt reflects the author's own experience as a young boy transplanted to England. He continues his tale of growing up to become a famous detective by recounting certain episodes, and his developing friendship with a beautiful, but rather pathetic, society girl.

Banks is clearly not well adjusted-existing in a semi-delusional state where he is in many ways still a child. From his profession as detective to complete lack of sexuality, he is the epitome of self-repression. His adoption of Jennifer, an orphaned British girl living overseas, offers all kinds of possibilities but ultimately leads nowhere, leaving the reader wondering what purpose the subplot serves other than to reinforce the titular theme. When he abandons her to return to Shanghai in the mid-1930s to "rescue" his kidnapped parents, one wonders why he offered his guardianship at all. The scene in Shanghai upon his return is fairly well-wrought, with the International Settlement a small protected enclave as Japanese invaders try to capture the city from Chinese defenders, If you've read J.G. Ballard's memoir, Empire of the Sun or seen the film, you'll recognize the situation.

However, it is at this juncture that the novel starts slipping into the mire. For some reason, Banks seems to think his presence and the resolution of his parents' disappearance will somehow lead to a resolution of the Sino-Japanese conflict-and by extension, world tensions. While we understand at this point that he is deluded, for some reason Ishiguro has the characters around him reinforce this delusion, especially the embassy protocol official Mr. Grayson. At this point, we are confused-for in the first part of the book, Ishiguro uses the discrepancies between statements by supporting characters and Banks recollections to clue us in that his narration is not completely reliable. So, in the second half, when supporting characters apparently support his by now obvious delusions, it goes against the structure Ishiguro's established and renders the narrative a complete muddle. This gets particularly out of hand when in the climactic race to the house where he believes his parents are being held, he encounters Chinese soldiers who both know who he is and eventually agree to help him at the expense of their own orders and safety. At this point the novel loses any hope of redemption, and indeed, when the true circumstances of his parents are made known, it's a revelation worthy of 1950s pulp magazines, not a world-class author.

From the standpoint of pure use of language, the book is lovely and quite readable, what remains mystifying is how Ishiguro could have allowed his use of the unreliable narrator to slip its lead and destroy any sense of sympathy and interest we had invested in the characters and outcome.

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Examination of a Life of Delusions
Review: Christopher Banks is a young boy when his parents disappear, one after the other, under mysterious circumstances, while they are living in Shanghai. Christopher is sent back to England to live, where he grows up, with the mystery of his parents' disappearance constantly erodes his grip on reality. The story is told in a 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. 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 Shangha. 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 at least 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 happened to his parents. 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.