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When We Were Orphans

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When We Were Orphans

By: Kazuo Ishiguro
Narrated by: Michael Maloney
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About this listen

England, 1930s: Christopher Banks has become the country's most celebrated detective, his cases the talk of London society. Yet one unsolved crime has always haunted him: the mysterious disappearance of his parents, in old Shanghai, when he was a small boy.

Moving between London and Shanghai of the interwar years, When We Were Orphans is a remarkable story of memory, intrigue and the need to return.

©2014 Kazuo Ishiguro (P)2014 Faber & Faber Coming of Age Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Thriller & Suspense Fiction England Heartfelt Suspense China

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The wonderful thing about this book is the quality of its first-person narration, a man driven by childhood memories and old trauma. He is blind to the trauma and to how it prevents him from connecting with other people. He also doesn't see the racist worldview he has acquired due to growing up as one of the colonists in a colonial outpost. The narrative voice is masterful, and perfectly depicted by the reader. It can't be easy to depict someone as deeply misguided and annoying as the narrator without ever once hinting that you know he is a broken person.

That said, the story is difficult, frustrating, and thoroughly implausible. The narrator, being broken, cannot describe other people in any depth, so all of the characters feel like cardboard cutouts. The childhood memories are the most human ones, but the narrator's obsessions mean that he provides little adult understanding of them. The narrator is only interested in his own obsessions, being all but oblivious even to being near the front lines of a war, which is stunningly skilled writing but does not in this instance make a good story. I have read that Ishiguro considers this his weakest book, and I'm not surprised. If you are looking for your first Ishiguro novel, I recommend choosing a different one. He has written some amazing first-person narrators in other books. This one gives glimpses of the amazing things the author can do, but in the end it is detached and disturbing without really holding together.

difficult, haunting book extremely well read out

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There is something gripping in Ishiguro's writing. Always a wanted trip to an unknown destination.

Again one feels the need to race through

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Fantastic novel, very well read. Will be thinking about this book for some time to come.

Excellent

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The book seems to phase between different genres (childhood memoir, detective story, “Buried Giant” quest, romance, espionage etc) and while listening it’s hard to work out what’s important or what it’s really about. But this is good as overall it leaves a strong impression and ambience and a cloud of disbelief in the various sections. The story ties up fully by the end and yet leaves a sense that somehow I’ve also missed the real story somewhere inside the narration of both everyday and extraordinary events and beyond belief chances. It’s as if the speaker has narrated a dream as he dies. Intriguing, puzzling, elusive.

Haunting story

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This audiobook is that rare combination of a wonderfully written story which is perfectly narrated. Ishiguro is a masterful storyteller, and whilst less well known that some of his other work, this story is no exception.

Michael Maloney is a perfect fit, narrating with all the subtlety and force that the story requires, nailing every accent so that you remain fully immersed in the unfolding drama.

Highly recommended

Beautiful, haunting story, perfectly read

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beautiful writing and narration. very enjoyable. Narrator read this amazing book so very well. Excellent.

unputdownable!

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A slow start and I felt a variable emphasis on different parts of the story but was worth listening to!

A good book but a bit disappointing

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Great narration but I frequently lost what the story was about and the characters became increasingly annoying. 3rd book I’ve read by Ishiguro and I didn’t enjoy this one at all.

Confusing story

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I have really, really enjoyed two of his other books.



It seems there is a 15 word minimum for a review. xxx cccvgvbhbbbb

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Liked the story telling (narrator). The overall story was just too far fetched. I believe the author admits it’s not his best work.
The story was easy to listen to as it is very well written. I just gave up 3/4 in preference of something else. Mr Ishiguro is an excellent writer - I’ve listened to two others of his works ( this my third). The buried giant and remains of the day. Brilliant.

Will definitely try another in the future.

Narrator

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