When We Were Orphans: A Novel
by Kazuo Ishiguro
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Book Reviews of When We Were Orphans: A Novel
Book Review: A meditative, moving story
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a book about nostalgia, the need to return to one's past and the intrigue of memory. The theme of the malleability, vagueness and unreliability of memory runs through all of Ishiguro's novels, and `When we were Orphans' is no exception. Set in London and Shanghai of the 1930s, the novel is about a renowned detective Christopher Banks returning to his childhood origin of Shanghai in search of his missing parents. He later discovers the true story that proved to be starkly, and shockingly, different from his preconceived notions and expectations. Kazuo Ishiguro is an excellent writer who works his craft in a subtle, moving way. The story tugs at your heartstrings with its portrayal of the genuine friendship between Banks and his Japanese friend Akira, of the everlasting love between Banks and his mother and a short yet sweet love relationship between Banks and Sarah Hemmings.
I always had a liking for stories which weave into them critiques of social phenomenon or insinuations at major affairs happening then. Hence `When we were Orphans' fit the bill perfectly with its mention of the opium war, buildup of war in Europe, life and condition in Shanghai with its corruption and foreign influences. The buildup of the story towards its climax took Ishiguro around two-thirds of the book. However, far from being monotonous and boring, the storytelling is skilful and captivating. If there were to be one complaint about this novel, it would be that certain parts of the story appeared to be rather contrived. But then again, that did not spoil the reading pleasure, for it was compensated for by Ishiguro's unique style and his use of the motif of the `texture of memory'.
Book Review: A Fascinating Exploration of Childhood's Lasting Power
Summary: 5 Stars
Self-contained precision is an apt description for the voice of Christopher Banks, the narrator of WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS. Besides striking a credible tone for an upper-crust English gentleman of the 1930's, this formal voice is just right for a man who keeps his emotional distance from his childhood and its traumatizing loss of his parents. This voice, and its cast of mind, keeps the pain away, even as that pain shapes the narrator's adult life.
This restrained voice is also a great tool for Ishiguro, who uses the eloquent clarity of Banks to solve a mystery, to explore the tenacious power of Banks' childhood trauma, and to undertake a symbolic journey through an embattled mind.
Indeed, Banks' journey through an urban battleground, which, in the telling, is Banks' actual effort to find and restore his supposedly kidnapped parents, is a gripping tour de force and the capstone of a futile and surrealistic quest. Ultimately, Banks penetrates to the heart of his trauma to find a whimpering child, trying to cope with loss. Then, in time, Banks is able to apply this knowledge to us all.
This restrained voice also gives great power to Ishiguro's spare use of metaphors. For example, Banks, in his journey through Shanghai's urban war zone, makes the simple observation that: "I often had the impression we were not moving through a slum district but some vast, ruined mansion with endless rooms." When you read this metaphor, which is a rare blip of figurative usage from the precise Banks, you say: Yes, exactly!
Well done and highly recommended.
Book Review: Confusing style
Summary: 2 Stars
There are several interpretations of this book. As a mystery this is very disappointing because we are never given enough information to understand why Christopher comes to the conclusions that he does and the plot of the book is so illogical. Why, in the midst of a battle, would a police officer offer to help on such a foolish mission as Banks is on? However, the ending is a perfect who-would'a-thought-that ending.
As study of a clearly disturbed mind that is pursuing a foolish quest in a surreal setting, the book is more acceptable. At that point one could assume that these events don't exactly happen as stated, but are an interpretation of Christopher's mind as his mind replays his solving his parents disappearance as he did in childhood. However, this interpretations doesn't play well with reality of the ending. Did we go from surreal to brutal reality with the turn of a page? Did Christopher recover that quickly?
Another interpretation is that the story is symbolic of England's imperialistic attitude of the world during that era. Christopher is representative of all the negative side of England, making sympathetic comments about the living conditions of the poor, yet being nonplused by the screams of the dying. He treats the Asian natives as poorly as any other European whom he is pretending to criticize.
I did not rate the book highly because there were too many events in the book that just couldn't happen. But if this was a trip into a troubled mind, than the shifting back to a standard format of a mystery didn't go smoothly.
Book Review: Well written, but a loose, rambling story lacking cohesion
Summary: 3 Stars
"When We Were Orphans" performs a delicate balancing act between an interesting psychological portrait and an abject failure. The tool that helps the novel keep its balance, its umbrella if you will, is Ishiguro's writing ability and use of language. His skill is what keeps you turning the pages, even while the plot makes you want to hurl the thing against the wall.For a work with a detective as the main character, there is no detecting. All cerebral inquiries take place off-stage, and are only mentioned after the fact. Even with the device of the unreliable narrator, some inkling of detective fiction would have been helpful. One gets the feeling that Ishiguro lacks the skills necessary to accurately portray a detective in action, so he covers this by having it all happen elsewhen. Many other things, relationships, chance meetings, character introductions, all seem like the plot-devices they are. Much of it is too forced, too false. There is little internal logic. Plots are left dangling, such as Mei Lin.
With that criticism, "When We Were Orphans" still has some power in it, and can deliver a few gripping scenes and summon up some depth of feeling. The war zone of Shanghai is one. The revelations of Uncle Philip are stunning in their strength. Some of the characters live and breath, such as Jennifer, even while interacting with the cardboard cut-outs that stand for other characters, such as Akira. Read as a series of short stories, interlinked with a wandering narrative, it is a decent book.
Book Review: yuck. famous author writes like a high schooler
Summary: 1 Stars
Oh how I hated this book. Sometimes I give up on a book when it is written poorly or with poor story craftsmanship. But in the case of When We Were Orphans, I was so disgusted with the poor quality of the story itself that I willed my self to finish it just so I could come home one day and write a review for Amazon. ... Ishiguro has written like a high schooler who has good technical ability but is not mature enough to actually think his story through. I kept finding myself chuckling at the absurdity of still thinking one's parents were alive and in the same darn house after having been kidnapped 30 years earlier. Huh?? I was also constantly reminded of the Belgian comic hero TinTin and his two-dimensional journies around the exotic regions of the globe....all 11 year old adolescent fantasy and thinness. Maybe the meditations on a child's memories make this the actual point?? A highly respected journalist friend of mine has one primary test for the quality of a story: do all the dots get connected in the end? And in the case of When We Were Orphans, the dots are not only disconnected - they keep disappearing as the story unfolds. Weak characters, simplistic plot devices, lazy story construction, offensive simplicity, etc. etc. I admit my vitriol is in large part motivated by a sense of disappointment after the oft praised Remains of the Day and even An Artist of the Floating World. Sorry Ishiguro....this is terribly weak and I suspect you know it. I'll give you another chance on your next novel though.