Reviews

When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro

aclypse's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I’ve picked up the book because i heard of the author and I wanted to read some of his works. And to say, I wasn't left disappointed, but i did expect something… better. 

I was immersed by the first lines – the usage of first-person POV, the atmosphere… but my mind couldn’t comprehend many things. For example, I didn’t understand until about the middle of the book that Christopher is an Englishman – there were so many mentions of Shanghai that i believed he was at least part Chinese. But I believe it to be a mistake on my side as the language is quite challenging for someone whose native language isn't English. 

Another one – its slow pace caught me a little off guard. Though I have to admit, the author is a master of managing the reader's attention. He knows when to slow down the pace. He knows when to get in some action scenes so the readers don’t get bored. I haven’t found myself bored even once while reading. 

 

I especially enjoyed all the scenes with Akira – from their childhood plays to the last time they saw each other. But so many questions were left unanswered… where did the soldiers take him? Where did he end up? Are Banks and Akira ever going to meet up again? 

 

 

Their dialogue after the two friends met after a long time of not seeing each other frustrated me in a surprised way. On one hand, I couldn’t understand why Christopher’s reaction was so… dull… while seeing his friend half dying basically. On the other, Akira’s reaction is what i will use when i find myself in a similar situation as he was in. 

 

I’ve also noticed Banks often says such phrases as “as i remember” or “i don’t remember correctly…”, and so I’m just wondering, is that an example of an unreliable narrator? 

 

Many questions haven't been answered. Those that should have been answered. And so many things went unexplained. I want to know more about Christopher’s career. I want to find out where did they take Akira. And there wasn’t much information shared about the cases Christopher has worked on – hence I didn’t find his career to be convincing enough. 

 

But what this book is truly worthwhile for is the amount of touching quotes, wholesome as well as drastic scenes, and a valuable resource to historical events. Another item on the “advantages” is the half-open ending – i love it when stories don’t answer every question, therefore, manage to stay with us a while longer after finishing it. 

protoman21's review against another edition

3.0

I'm sorry to say that this book was a big disappointment. 2.5 stars. Ishiguro is an excellent writer, but this book just never went anywhere. The actual writing was good and each moment on its own was well constructed, but as a whole the plot never came together and the characters, though likable, never achieved much depth. The story jumped around some, but with no real direction and ultimately I never cared at all what would happen, and the one thing I might have cared about was teased and then didn't happen. I loved Never Let Me Go, but both The Buried Giant and this one were big disappointments, so unless I decide to check out Remains of the Day sometime in the future, I may be done with Ishiguro.

tealdavis's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

sippysip's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It took me forever to read this book (despite it being the same length as another book I read in 2.5 hours) because of the heavier subject matter. I enjoy Ishiguro's writing style, but this genre is very new for me.

mars555's review against another edition

2.0

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smal_practice's review against another edition

Excruciating war descriptions

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, and War

muchturnedpages's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ellenmcn's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

mrbear's review against another edition

2.0

This book was truly disappointing. I wanted to like it. It started off with a very promising storyline, but around a third of the way through the book it became clear that it wasn't going to pan out, and the end of the book was excruciating. Quite simply the plot, character development, and main character himself were all terrible. Very few of the motivations of characters' actions made sense, and the story itself wasn't compelling because it was so nonsensical.

After The Remains of the Day, I had assumed Ishiguro was a generically good writer, and that I would enjoy most of his books. Now I realize that Ishiguro is only worth reading when his topic is good. The Remains of the Day, while simple plot-wise, was the correct style of book for him to write. The plot lent itself naturally to the protagonist's introspection, and little needed to happen over the course of the book for it to remain compelling. When We Were Orphans, on the other hand, was set up initially as a very plot driven book to that point that it could not retain itself unless the speed and intrigue of the plot were maintained. I think Ishiguro's writing does not lend itself to this style, as the second half of this book demonstrates.

erin_williams2's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25