Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Top 60 Novels of 2000-2009 Countdown: No. 43


When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro

This novel ostensibly is about a detective looking for his lost parents, but it really is a lot more -- it's about colonialism, war, nationalism, delusions and lots of other cool stuff. For one thing, Ishiguro's ethereal voice gives the novel a dreamlike intensity; unlike The Unconsoled, it's more compact and plot-oriented, so I was able to finish it. In fact, I finished it while I was at a conference in Los Angeles in 2000. The scenes in battle-scarred China, with the reappearing Japanese soldier, are especially effective. 

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