Wordless Wednesday 6-September

Book: When We Were Orphans

When We Were Orphans
Kazuo Ishiguro
Amazon Product link

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 inter-war years, When We Were Orphans is a remarkable story of memory, intrigue and the need to return.

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I neither liked not disliked this book. I was actually really put out by another book I was reading, and then I went to the library to look for a travel guide (preparing for an upcoming trip to Seoul) and as I walked past the asian authors shelf, I just thought I'd get an Ishiguro book since I really enjoyed The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, if just for the way his writing is.

Admittedly, after having read Never Let Me Go, and reading one particular review on Goodreads, I was kind of expecting some big reveal plot twist or such, and on that note this book was a slight disappointment.

So, I borrowed an Ishiguro book specifically for his writing style, so all the complaints about his writing style weren't an issue for me. I actually wanted to read that.

For the story itself, the main character is a detective, but if you are thinking of any BBC Sherlock or any other detective story kind of reasoning, there is none of it here. Christopher Banks, his actual cases are only mentioned in passing, and not much is said as to his "deductions" or whatnot.

There are a few characters in there that I really didn't see the point of being there, and also some with really loose loose ends that I'd like to see some closure to, but I guess that is not to happen.

The basis is, this Shanghai-born English boy Christopher Banks got sent back to England after the disappearance of his parents, believed to be kidnapped, he later became a detective and went back to Shanghai in search of them. Banks retells snippets of his memories and particular incidents, throughout the different stages of his life and eventually the final. It does seem a bit improbable that Banks had it fixated in his mind that his parents were being kept in the same place even after 18-years... but what do you know, in then, but without revealing the hows and the connection... (A bit of a spoiler) he does find his mother in the end. However, with the way it was explained, then Banks' Aunt should have known about it, so how come she had never mentioned, even when he grew to be an adult, is beyond me.

As I said already, I got this book fully expecting the writing style as it is, I know many people don't like it, but I actually do. And hey, I did manage to finish this book in 3 sittings (unlike some other books I'm reading that I just want to procrastinate on the reading). So yeah, I'm ok with this book. I'll probably just suggest not to read this book after Never Let Me Go. The lack of a big chilling reveal was a tiny let down for me.