When We Were Orphans

An absolutely brilliant novel by Kazuo Ishiguro; but then everything he writes is outstanding. This is his latest. It's the 1930's, and Christopher Banks has become a celebrated detective. He decides to go back to Shanghai, the place he grew up, to solve the most important case of his life; the kidnapping of his parents.

Of course, it's not so simple. Ishiguro really likes the device of the fallible narrator, and he makes it very clear within the first chapter that there's a significant difference between the way Banks sees himself and the way others see him. The entire idea of being a famous detective, standing between chaos and order, is a childish, romantic one; and that's Banks' whole life. He's simply continuing his childhood. His parents have been missing since he was a little boy, and yet he expects to find them hidden away comfortably a few houses away.

This is the main idea of the novel; the unrealistic idealism of that period, that everything could be solved easily, if people just understood the truth (actually, it's not just of that time - I think that's still a common fallacy). Banks' mother was an anti-opium campaigner, who believed that she could change things by simply making the truth clear. Sarah, Banks' friend, believes she can make a difference to the world by marrying the right person and pushing him along. The Japanese-Chinese war has begun, and Banks believes he is responsible for solving it.

I love Ishiguro's clear, down-to-earth writing style. Even though every character has his or her own voice, it's still undeniably Ishiguro. It's a very intimate style, and because it's first person, it's like someone sitting down and taking you into their confidence. I really enjoy his writing, and this is one of his best.