---
product_id: 95914322
title: "When We Were Orphans"
price: "RM137"
currency: MYR
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 12
url: https://www.desertcart.com.my/products/95914322-when-we-were-orphans
store_origin: MY
region: Malaysia
---

# When We Were Orphans

**Price:** RM137
**Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock

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- **What is this?** When We Were Orphans
- **How much does it cost?** RM137 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Currently out of stock
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.my](https://www.desertcart.com.my/products/95914322-when-we-were-orphans)

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## Description

When We Were Orphans : Kazuo Ishiguro: desertcart.in: Books

Review: Opium Wars! - Written in fluent style, with little breathing space, the storyline keeps the reader engrossed. Yet many an issue remains as regards logic and rationality of behaviour on the part of the actors in the story, chiefly, the protagonist! The author uses chance rendezvous to get the characters meet at unexpected spots, which, in my view weakens the reliability of the ‘facts’ of the story in that it starts appearing untrue, unrealistic. In progressive writing, emphasis ought to be on reality of the world ‘as it is’ or ‘as it ought to be’; that is the purpose of any ‘literature’! Yet the spotlight on opium wars and the horrific condition of human beings in China and Japan during that time span speaks volumes of the civilisation and its ongoing journey.
Review: A detective book, much more than smart case solving - This is my third Ishiguro book...and in significant way the book is similar to the other two I had read. Told in the first person Orphans is about how we remember our past. As Christhoper Banks now an aged detective staying in London is recolleting his life many minor details seem to be confounding him, taking the style of recollecting closer to how we actually remember things located in our distant past, bits & pieces coming together to form a whole without having to be in a chronological order. This is signature Ishiguro. When We Were Orphans is a book about a detective but not 'detective' book in that it is not concerned with how Christopher Banks solved his cases but the things he unearthed in the course of his investigations. It is genre bending and makes a book bigger than the sum of it's parts. I had been told in a writing workshop that a detective book starts with problem and ends with a solution and along the way you can use it to explore social and other issues. An accomplished detective, when Banks sets out to investigate why is parents suddenly dissapaired in 19th century Shanghai smarting under opium addiction, he discovers things far removed from what he had grown up believing. Like other Ishiguro books this one is also minimalistic, only detailing the back story of the main character and providing only so much of the background of the other characters as much is required to help the main narrative.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #124,775 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,539 in Science Fiction Crime & Mystery #1,866 in Mysteries (Books) #2,049 in Thrillers and Suspense |
| Customer Reviews | 4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars (4,119) |
| Dimensions  | 12.6 x 1.9 x 19.8 cm |
| Edition  | Main - Re-issue |
| Generic Name  | book |
| ISBN-10  | 0571283888 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0571283880 |
| Importer  | Penguin Random House India Pvt Ltd |
| Item Weight  | 260 g |
| Language  | English |
| Net Quantity  | 250.00 Grams |
| Packer  | Penguin Random House India Pvt Ltd |
| Print length  | 320 pages |
| Publication date  | 7 February 2013 |
| Publisher  | Faber |

## Images

![When We Were Orphans - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81ZJ4KD+x2L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Opium Wars!
*by A***' on 22 August 2020*

Written in fluent style, with little breathing space, the storyline keeps the reader engrossed. Yet many an issue remains as regards logic and rationality of behaviour on the part of the actors in the story, chiefly, the protagonist! The author uses chance rendezvous to get the characters meet at unexpected spots, which, in my view weakens the reliability of the ‘facts’ of the story in that it starts appearing untrue, unrealistic. In progressive writing, emphasis ought to be on reality of the world ‘as it is’ or ‘as it ought to be’; that is the purpose of any ‘literature’! Yet the spotlight on opium wars and the horrific condition of human beings in China and Japan during that time span speaks volumes of the civilisation and its ongoing journey.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A detective book, much more than smart case solving
*by I***E on 26 July 2018*

This is my third Ishiguro book...and in significant way the book is similar to the other two I had read. Told in the first person Orphans is about how we remember our past. As Christhoper Banks now an aged detective staying in London is recolleting his life many minor details seem to be confounding him, taking the style of recollecting closer to how we actually remember things located in our distant past, bits & pieces coming together to form a whole without having to be in a chronological order. This is signature Ishiguro. When We Were Orphans is a book about a detective but not 'detective' book in that it is not concerned with how Christopher Banks solved his cases but the things he unearthed in the course of his investigations. It is genre bending and makes a book bigger than the sum of it's parts. I had been told in a writing workshop that a detective book starts with problem and ends with a solution and along the way you can use it to explore social and other issues. An accomplished detective, when Banks sets out to investigate why is parents suddenly dissapaired in 19th century Shanghai smarting under opium addiction, he discovers things far removed from what he had grown up believing. Like other Ishiguro books this one is also minimalistic, only detailing the back story of the main character and providing only so much of the background of the other characters as much is required to help the main narrative.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Engrossing tale
*by R***N on 9 September 2022*

Well researched , delicately nuanced and told without boring prevarications. It seems impertinent to comment on work of a Nobel laureate

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*Product available on Desertcart Malaysia*
*Store origin: MY*
*Last updated: 2026-02-28*