- WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS;
- A book by KAZUO ISHIGURO.
Its England in the 1930’s and the reader is drawn into London Society and introduced to Christopher Banks, the country’s most celebrated detective. He has solved some of the most enigmatic cases of the time, yet one unresolved crime has always haunted him – the mysterious disappearance of his parents, in Old Shanghai when he was a boy
This is the work of Kazuo Ishiguro, perhaps best known for his international best-seller Remains of the Day which was adapted into an award winning film starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. In 1995 he received an OBE for services to literature and the French decoration of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Letters in 1998.
This book tenderly and skill fully illustrates the effect of war on the lives of ordinary people whilst incorporating many sub plots and, running through it all, the mystery of what really happened to Christopher Banks’ parents. It will take you on a journey that I guarantee you won’t forget – one that depicts incredible hardship and cruelty through to unwavering love and devotion.
The characters are introduced slowly and carefully, each deftly portrayed with the sweep of a few incisive words then built up to create bones of characteristics with the readers imagination encouraged to flesh out the whole. Christopher Banks, for example, appears at first rather staid and one dimensional, but reveals himself a complex, deep and rather dark character as the story draws you further on. His ‘Uncle Phillip’ begins as a jolly, bumptious businessman only to slowly appear sinister, calculating and dangerous.
An exceptional and original book – one that will haunt the mind and move to tears. Highly recommended.
Book reviewer:- Michelle Harvey, ANAWA.
