When We Were Orphans: A Novel (Vintage International)

Wow. What a wonderful read. This is the first book I have read by this author and I was blown away by this book on so many levels. The story begins by detailing the early life of a British expat family living in Shanghai in the early pre-ww 2 years. The relationship between the young Christopher Banks (the son) and his best friend and neighbour, Akira, who is Japanese, is beautifully told. When Christopher is 10, he is left orphaned as first his father and then his mother disappears. After returning to the UK and growing up he returns to Shanghai to discover what happened to his parents. I will not reveal more details as it will spoil the story. Suffice it to say, this book may well be one of the best I have read or will read for a few reasons. First, the prose is elegant and beautiful and secondly, the story whilst sad in many respects has so many life lessons in hope for the future. The emotional depth of the characters and their world-view amidst war and suffering is moving. The deeper motifs of the role of colonialism, greed, cultural differences are wonderfully and sensitively handled and thought-provoking. Definitely 5 stars

This is my third read from Kazuo Ishiguro (the other two being Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, both of which I enjoyed very much) and one common trait from all three books is the level of sophistication and introspection. This often comes in the form of how thoughts, memories, and time (from the narrator’s point of view) play a key role and mechanism in how events and themes are presented and/or manipulated. Alongside this, there’s often a question of how much is NOT said from the narrator’s perspective, and this is important because there is at times heavy lifting required from the reader. I think this is fine, however, because there are definitely some holes to fill in or “under the surface” moments that we need to interpret. In short, I appreciate the fact that we have to put some pieces of the puzzle together to form our own perspective. When We Were Orphans is such a novel that gives the reader quite a bit to sift through and unpack. In its barest form, the book involves narrator Christopher Banks’ quest to find his mother and father, who went missing when he was younger. He is now a prominent detective who has made a name for himself, and will eventually revisit Shanghai to finally try to solve the mystery of this disappearance. However, along this journey, Banks is preoccupied with so many recollections of the past, tragedies and momentous events that still haunt him till this day. This is quite a difficult book to write about in detail without a potential spoiler, but suffice to say, there is a distant, non-linear aspect to aspect to Banks’ narration and reflections that might have us question what is real and what is perhaps exaggeration. I felt like this was a novel of many novels, given the several different threads and subplots are opened up and recur throughout. We move back and forth through different moments in Christopher’s life, from his childhood memories with his parents and Uncle Phillips, his friend Akira, his encounters with Sarah Hemmings, and his adopted daughter Jennifer and try to put this fragmented puzzle together. There is quite a bit to reflect upon after finishing, and I think the title takes on a deeper level of significance looking back. I like the level of ambiguity that the author utilizes to have us fill in some of the missing pieces in this one. Very introspective read, and I look forward to my next read from this author.

Kazuo Ishiguro is definitely a talented writer. I enjoyed the backdrop of a growing opium trade in Shanghai and other countries in the Orient, along with the growing political interference of other nations. Ishiguro fashioned an interesting novel, rich with imagery and choice words, truly evoking the romanticism of the 1920s and 1930s. His character development was deep and made for three dimensional characters which evoked emotional reactions from this reader. I also appreciated Ishiguro's sense of the passing of time, accomplished through the maturation of the main characters, establishment of relationships and the aging of cities. Lastly, I enjoyed how each character found themselves in the situation of being an orphan, and how powerfully that essence of loneliness was woven throughout the text. While enjoying these elements of the author's craft, I was bored by the book and found the plot to be quite predictable. Once Uncle Phillip was introduced and became so enmeshed with the family, I predicted he would have some involvement in the disappearance of Christopher's parents. Also easily predictable was Sarah and her "grand" entrances into the text, as was the development of a "relationship" between Sarah and Christopher. While it was a long shot, I suspected Christopher would find his parents, or at least his mother, which he did. However, I was really saddened by the outcome of her "survival" under the abusive slavery of Wang Ku and the fact that she didn't know Christopher when finally seeing him. Christopher was such a flat character, that I don't know how others found him so appealing. He was a workaholic who was only part of the "in crowd", due to his prowess as a detective. Otherwise, he came across a socially inept and unaware of how to begin and sustain a relationship with a woman. His obsession with Akira was unnatural, especially since there was some antagonism between the two boys during their childhood. The fact that any Japanese man looked like Akira, was a bit amusing to me. I completely hated Sarah. She was an absolute nuisance and utterly lacking in any personal depth of character. The only times Sarah was remotely human and spurred my compassion was when she and Christopher rode the bus through London, with Sarah reminiscing about her mother. The other time I felt sorry for Sarah was when Sir Cecil slapped her around in the casino - no woman deserves abuse. However, Sarah's desperation to be connected with someone socially acceptable put her into the situation. Christopher's mother seemed the only sense of morality throughout the text. She was steadfast in her determination to get her husband to admit his actions against the people of the Orient, as well as his extramarital affair. Her fierce love and protection of Christopher was evident, as she'd give him the eye when she was involved in business, but come outside to sing and play with him, once her work was completed. It almost makes me ill thinking about all she endured to protect the son she loved so much. Lastly, I found it interesting, but almost understandable that Christopher would adopt Jennifer. Here too, the orphan rears its head and is granted a home. While not playing a significant role, Jennifer's actual presence in Christophe's life, seemed to give him a sense of purpose and meaning.

Forse il più sentito e difficile libro di Ishiguro. Va letto lentamente, assaporando ogni frase. Sembra quasi un thriller ma in realtà è una storia di rivisitazione dell'infanzia e uno spaccato di vita nella Cina pre maoista. Bellissimo!

Ich hatte bisher lediglich Ishiguros grandiosen Roman "Never Let Me Go" gelesen und war gespannt auf die Lektüre, ohne irgendeine Vorstellung davon zu haben, was mich erwarten würde. "When We Were Orphans" hat mich tatsächlich genauso weggeblasen. Die unnachahmliche Albtraumhaftigkeit, die surreale Atmosphäre, der dunkle Abgrund, in den die Protagonisten unausweichlich gezogen werden, zeichnet beide Bücher gleichermaßen aus. Kazuo Ishiguro ist für mich ein phantatstischer Erzähler, der in pseudohistorischen Parallelwelten absurde, den Protagonisten selbst aber völlig normal und folgerichtig erscheinende, Ereignisketten penibel realistisch schildert und einen subtilen Horror kreiert, der süchtig macht. Die aus Zeit und Raum gefallene internationale Siedlung im opiumsüchtigen Schanghai des frühen 20. Jahrhundert liefert die optimale Folie für "When We Were Orphans", diese wahnhafte Detektivgeschichte, in der die Genialität des Detektivs immer nur behauptet, aber nie wirklich nachvollziehbar oder greifbar wird. Ishiguros spät- und postkoloniale Sherlock-Holmes-Figur geistert wie Friedrich Glausers Fahnder Studer durch ein undurchdringliches und furchteinflößendes Dunkel.

Written in fluent style, with little breathing space, the storyline keeps the reader engrossed. Yet many an issue remains as regards logic and rationality of behaviour on the part of the actors in the story, chiefly, the protagonist! The author uses chance rendezvous to get the characters meet at unexpected spots, which, in my view weakens the reliability of the ‘facts’ of the story in that it starts appearing untrue, unrealistic. In progressive writing, emphasis ought to be on reality of the world ‘as it is’ or ‘as it ought to be’; that is the purpose of any ‘literature’! Yet the spotlight on opium wars and the horrific condition of human beings in China and Japan during that time span speaks volumes of the civilisation and its ongoing journey.

Chegou em depressa e tudo em ordem, bem embalado

I actually brought and read this book for a course I take and Uni, not as a pleasure read. That said, I really enjoyed reading it in preparation for my class, I found the novel engaging, interesting, and different in a very quirky way. However, it was only after going through the book in class that I really understood and appreciated just how intricate the novel really is. I found it a very good read, but getting the best out of it required some effort. There's a lot of very brilliant aspects to the book I only noticed or digested after it had been pointed out me, had I not had a class on it, they might very well have eluded me.