When We Were Orphans
by Kazuo Ishiguro
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro holds a mixed reviews rating of 3.45 out of 5, based on 13.9K reader ratings. First published in 2000. The book spans 320 pages.
About When We Were Orphans
The maze of human memory--the ways in which we accommodate and alter it, deceive and deliver ourselves with it--is territory that Kazuo Ishiguro has made his own. In his previous novels, he has explored this inner world and its manifestations in the lives of his characters with rare inventiveness and subtlety, shrewd humor and insight. In When We Were Orphans, his first novel in five years, he returns to this terrain in a brilliantly realized story that illuminates the power of one's past to determine the present.Christopher Banks, an English boy born in early-twentieth-century Shanghai, is orphaned at age nine when his mother and father both vanish under suspicious circumstances. Sent to live in England, he grows up to become a renowned detective and, more than twenty years later, returns to Shanghai, where the Sino-Japanese War is raging, to solve the mystery of the disappearances.The story is straightforward. Its telling is remarkable. Christopher's voice is controlled, detailed, and detached, its precision unsurprising in someone who has devoted his life to the examination of details and the rigors of objective thought. But within the layers of his narrative is slowly revealed what he can't, or won't, see: that his memory, despite what he wants to believe, is not unaffected by his childhood tragedies; that his powers of perception, the heralded clarity of his vision, can be blinding as well as enlightening; and that the simplest desires--a child's for his parents, a man's for understanding--may give rise to the most complicated truths.A masterful combination of narrative control and soaring imagination, When We Were Orphans is Kazuo Ishiguro at his best.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Author | Kazuo Ishiguro |
| Published | 2000 |
| Pages | 320 |
| Genres | Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Fiction, Mystery & Thriller |
| Average Rating | 3.45 / 5.00 |
| Total Ratings | 13,886 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What genre is When We Were Orphans?
When We Were Orphans is categorized as Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Fiction. Its primary genre classification is Mystery & Thriller.
Is When We Were Orphans worth reading?
Based on 13.9K reader ratings, When We Were Orphans has an average score of 3.45 out of 5.00, which is considered "Mixed Reviews."
How many pages is When We Were Orphans?
When We Were Orphans has 320 pages.
Who wrote When We Were Orphans?
When We Were Orphans was written by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was first published in 2000.
What is the ISBN for When We Were Orphans?
The ISBN-13 for When We Were Orphans is 9780571225410.0.
Data sourced from community book ratings and reviews. Last updated: April 15, 2026
