Questions About When We Were Orphans

by Kazuo Ishiguro (Goodreads Author)

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about When We Were Orphans, please sign up.

Answered Questions (11)

Why was I so annoyed with the narrator? I felt he was inured to everyone's plight but his own narrow British concerns.

Lisa SPOILERS AHEAD!!! I think maybe we're supposed to be pretty annoyed with the narrator. Ishiguro turns the mystery genre on its head here; the narrator…moreSPOILERS AHEAD!!! I think maybe we're supposed to be pretty annoyed with the narrator. Ishiguro turns the mystery genre on its head here; the narrator is blind to so many concerns besides his rather monomaniacal desire to figure out what happened to his parents. Ishiguro seems (to me) to be pointing that in life, many such mysteries, and their pursuit, lead to very little, with answers we would rather not have (thus turn the mystery genre on its head--mysteries tend to satisfy because answers are found; order is restored; a possibility justice might obtain. But not here. Here finding out the answer leads only to sadness). Banks misses out raising his ward; he thoughtlessly and needlessly endangers people in the conflict; he destroys his memories of Akira....all to find out the ends were sad and squalid for both parents, and they were both beyond saving or avenging.
(less)

flag

There are many odd aspect to this book- the conviction the parents were still alive not just by Banks but by the authorities and the ludicrous plans for a party. The odd unconvincing language, the narrative seemed oddly disjointed. Why and how did the old classmate know all about his old house and why were the occupants willing to give it up when they owned it? I found it poorly constructed and irritating to read

Nandini

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

flag

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Keith

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

flag

I saw that a lot of people think that the Japanese soldier Banks runs into isn’t really Akira. I’m not sure if I think that or not. Did you you think it was just some random soldier? If so, can you explain why you think that?

Alix Blue Hi there! To me it appears that the hole quest of the narrator is just one big metaphor for our inability to find what's past. He goes back to the Eas…moreHi there! To me it appears that the hole quest of the narrator is just one big metaphor for our inability to find what's past. He goes back to the East, he goes back to the city where he used to live, he tries to find his parents but in the end, nothing is the same anymore and nothing will be. That's why I think the soldier is not Akira at all: first, it's way too unlikely (how would he recognize him and seriously, what are the odds?) Secondly, the author makes sure we know Christopher is an unreliable narrator. He keeps correcting himself about every little thing throughout the book. Sometimes he spends two pages describing something just to end up saying it's not true. I think the whole novel (whose main theme I think is memory) explains how we can never really re-live the past, no matter how much we want to. Maybe it's a stretch, but the disappearance of the parents coul also be understood on a metaphorical level : it's only once our parents are old are dead or old that we realize how much they mean to us. The constant back an forth between the past and the present during the novel, combined with Christopher's unreliability are (in my opinion) supposed to underline how dimly our memories connect us to our past. (less)

flag

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)