Book Review: When We Were Orphans

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

When We Were Orphans     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Kazuo Ishiguro
Class/Genre:   Fiction

Christopher Banks is a celebrated British detective, working in London in the years between the wars. His expertise provides many opportunities and a steady income. Orphaned years before, he now provides a home and governess for a young girl, also an orphan.

The circumstances of his early life still hold a strong pull on his attention, and in 1937 he returns to Shanghai, China, the city of his childhood. The Japanese have invaded and although the international quarter remains relatively safe, bombardment and destruction are the norm in other areas of the city.

In Shanghai, Banks searches for answers to the mysterious kidnappings first of this father and later of his mother, which occurred some 25 years earlier. A hair raising evening spent in a precarious struggle through the destroyed areas of the city dominates this section of the story.

This novel is certainly mysterious, and filled with enigmatic reactions, events, and memories. Oh so gradually, Banks comes to terms with the mysteries of his own personal history.

Woodstock - RAM

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