vrijdag 4 juli 2014

Kazuo Ishiguro: When We Were Orphans

Hi

When We Were Orphans is my second Kazuo Ishiguro book. I found this one in De Slegte, a second-hand bookshop, it has 334 pages. When We Were Orphans was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in the year 2000.

"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. Now, as the world lurches towards total war, Banks realises the time has come for him to return to the city of his childhood and at last solve the mystery. That only by his doing so will civilization be saved from the approaching catastrophe."

Such a boring, aggravating story.
The story is weirdly constructed; it's a complete mess. The characters feel underdeveloped and I didn’t really connect with them. They all read the same, not one character had its own distinct voice.
I didn’t understand Christopher's whole romance with Sarah, why he adopted Jennifer or why he became so frantic in the police station. Very weak plot.

Can’t say I enjoyed the book.

1 star

Happy reading.
Helena

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