Rating: 
Summary: A Glorious Frustraton
Review: The true beauty of this book lies in the fact that Ishiguro is an absolute master of the written word. The flow and lycicism of the book carries one along while the present recedes and you are back with the young Christopher Banks watching through his eyes as his story unfolds. All the emotions of childhood are so well captured - joy, laughter, fear, lonliness, boredom, fun, longing..., and we see these emotions change gradually as they shape the boy Christopher into the man Christopher. The story is haunting and fascinating - the way it is written captivating. The last third of the book became a little overdone and implausible as far the story went, but the words used never lost their power to enchant and captivate. The book was gloriously written but frustrating in that the depth of the last part of the story did not match well to the words used. This only happened towards the end of the book so, all in all, an unbelieveably beautiful book. Absolutely destined to be a classic.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautifully written, heartrending novel.
Review: In slightly Dickensian fashion, Ishiguro builds a sad tale around a nine-year-old British boy in Shanghai at the beginning of the century whose father, working for a firm whispered to have had something to do with the opium trade, disappears one day. His mother disappears then some days later and Christopher is sent to English to be raised by an aunt. As a grown man he develops into a rather celebrated detective and it is then that he decides to return to Shanghai to solve the unexplained disappearances of his parents. He returns during a period of great upheaval in China (during the conflict with Japan in the early 1930s) and searches for and finds his boyhood friend, Akira (in some unbelievable circumstances), and also finds, meets, and is disappointed by Inspector Kung (the man who had headed his father's disappearance case).
Ishiguro is the master of understatements (his wonderful "Remains of the Day" won the Booker Prize) and yet this novel left me with such despair. This boy is orphaned and yet does not mourn the loss of his parents. He returns to China during a period of almost anarchy and confusion and seems strangely oblivious to it all - his focus so intense on his particular goal. What makes this book worth reading is the exquisite prose of Kazuo Ishiguro. He has a patience in his writing that allows the reader to absorb what is being said at different levels. A beautifully written, heartrending novel.
Rating:
Summary: FABULOUS
Review: After having read this book, I can say that it was one of my favorites this year. Ishiguro's haunting writings of the deception of memory is so explosive. His connection of the transparent memories we have as a kid and those thoughts that carry through through out our lives is sure to connect with every adult who has lived through the end of innocence. You must read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: honestly!
Review: How do we get this man to quit writing his tortured nightmares? I thought he had completely exhausted the tortured nightmare in "The Unconsoled". Enough already!
Rating:
Summary: great, intense -- classic ishiguro -
Review: sometimes you read kazuo ishiguro and it seems that he's always playing the same tune -- "stiff, delusional older guy looks back on life and pieces together a tragic past" ... but this one proved that ishiguro can do more with his toolkit than just rehash remains of the day. this book is extremely powerful and gripping -- definitely on a peer level with R.O.D. and in some ways stronger.
Rating: 
Summary: an intriguing story without any sparkle...
Review: Kazuo Ishiguro is known for his superior prose and very subtle portrayals of emotional dysfunctional individuals. Words like 'elegent' are used to describe his novels. Sad to say, 'When We Were Orphans' falls short compared to his other works. From a 10,000 ft view the story is interesting enough. A young British man reflects upon his childhood in 1920s Shanghai. During his childhood his parents mysteriously disappeared. So as fate would have it, he uses his professional skills (he is a private investigator) to unravel the mystery by returning to Shanghai right before WW II. The mystery is unraveled in the end (..and it is a surprise). But where the story fails, and fails miserably, is the failure to engage the reader. The narrative is told without any emotion; at times it is like reading a newspaper. In the end I lost all sense of compassion despite the rather surprising end to the mystery. Beyond the main story there are some interesting aspects to this novel. Ishiguro expertly captures the feel on 1930s Shanghai, especially for those (wealthy) foreigners living there. And some of the minor characters are rather memorable. Bottom line: a disappointment overall, but probably merits a look by Ishiguro fans and/or those interested in 1930s China.
Rating: 
Summary: I was angry when I finished it
Review: This is the first book that made me angry upon finishing. It started out promisingly and then turned into something that is hard for me to describe. Ridiculous might be a good word. the two stars are for the writing style because it is very prettily written, too bad we are left not knowing why the author bothered.
Rating:
Summary: sillier and sillier
Review: The book begins well but becomes sillier and sillier. Conversations are stilted and rather inane. Relationships - such as between Christopher and Sally - never develop in any believable way. By the end it is ridiculous. He leaves Sally for 2 minutes and then goes off to find his parents who have been missing for 30 years! Meets his boyhood friend in the most unlikely of places! Come on.... It is hard for me to believe any reviewer would promote it unless they are basing their appreciation of the book on the author's former works. If an unknown author had submitted it, I doubt any publisher would have touched it. I am finishing it only because the reader - and I am reading it on tape - is very good and I want to see just how unbelievable the ending is.
Rating:
Summary: On memory and blind spots
Review: Memories of the distant past influence what people do, feel and choose in a mysterious and complex way. Kazuo Ishiguro, like many other great writers, has done a noble attempt to deal with this and other issues in "when we were orphans". Christopher Banks, a child living in the international quarter of Shanghai, is taken away to London at the age of 10, after the mysterious disappearance of both his parents. He becomes a detective, and goes back to Shanghai many years later, on the verge of the Sino-Japanese war, to solve the secret of their disappearance. The first part of the book, which I find to be the most beautiful part, the personality and mindset of Christopher are meticulously constructed through the memories of his childhood. In the second half, this construct, including those "blind spots" created by his childhood trauma, is set in action. And there's the big problem of the book. It's not the frustration that the reader feels with the partial blindness of our hero - that's to be expected and it complements the first half just perfectly well. It is the absurdity of the events that take place in Shanghai and the improbable behaviour of the characters there that marred the book for me. It's a pity - the recreation of the "good old chap" atmosphere in London is phenomenal, and the build up is just great. It's a shame that such an anti climax follows. One word as to remarks such as "begins slow but gets much faster so hold on to it", that I read a lot everywhere. As in music, so in literature - the slow "adagio" movement or introduction preceding the fast "allegro con brio" can be much more interesting and emotionally effective than the following fast-paced part. And this is the feeling I had with Ishiguro's "When We Were Orphans". If the issue of remembrance and actions (or non-actions) derived from it is of interest - I strongly recommend "The Assault" by the Dutch writer Harry Mulisch, which deals in a deeper and more thoroughly convincing way with the question of how traumas we live through in childhood affect the way we behave, the choices we make and the way we see the world as adults.
Rating:
Summary: Stilted Brits
Review: I know there's a stereotype of the uptight British, and apparently it exists for a reason. Ishiguro's Christopher Banks is just such a character. Although he narrates the story, and we follow him through the course of several years, we never really KNOW him. He remains distant, cold, and never fully fleshed out. Therefore, I found it difficult to give myself over to the story and Banks' plight. Banks' romantic interest is equally cold and elusive, and their relationship (or lack thereof) seemed rather empty. The exotic Shanghai setting seems the ideal backdrop for the mystery that unfolds. But the mystery unfolds so damn slowly! There's all this mucking around in the middle of the novel, and then, quite suddenly, we're presented with a hurried conclusion that fails to satisfy. You never really understand on what level the disappearance of Banks' parents affects him. Everyone's emotions, as well as the prose, seemed stilted. Not my cup of tea, old chap.
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