When We Were Orphans | 
so-soAn unusual and surreal story. At times it reads a little like a dream sequence as one scene blends into another. However, I think this is due to the narrator‘s unreliable memory as it‘s really a tale about what we can remember of our pasts. It touches on a variety of quite serious themes. It‘s well written and evocative of the time periods it is set in. Although I didn‘t quite enjoy it as much as I thought I would, it did give food for thought.
I‘m reading this with my local book group. The theme was a book by Kazuo Ishiguro - we voted on his list of books and this one got the most votes. Going by reviews it could be a ‘Marmite‘ type of book, you either hate it or you love it.
bailedI like the writing but am finding it boring. When I‘m thinking of bailing I look at Litsy reviews to make sure I shouldn‘t try a little harder to finish. There isn‘t anything there to spur me on to the finish line. Bailing at 25%
#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
pickWhile often described as one of his weakest works, I've always enjoyed Kazuo Ishiguro's writing, and I found this novel satisfying in the end. Initially the first several sections felt slow but really helped set the more interesting latter portion where things ultimately came together. This story is a reflection of what one remembers and what one forgets; it's an exploration of memory and how it can be used to shield oneself from reality.
Nothing like some morning reading paired with a perfect croissant and coffee
so-soUndecided. Found the plot a little confusing at times. Enjoyed the protagonist Mr Bank's narration. The character of Sarah was the draw of the book for me.
so-so2.5 ⭐️ I probably would have enjoyed this more if it moved a tad quicker. Memory is a central player in Ishiguro‘s tale of a detective‘s lifelong quest to get to the bottom of his parents‘ disappearance. March #doublespin - Accomplished.
pickIshiguro explores memory, unreliable narration and missed opportunity in this strange, perplexing novel which flits around from 1930s England to early twentieth-century Shanghai and back again. Beautifully written and unsettling.
#2 I am excited for this one. I loved Never Let Me Go, The Remains of the Day and The Unconsoled. This is also the second book of my crazy reading challenge. Can I read 500 books in 18 months? I gave myself this challenge not to actually hit the target-it is outrageously difficult I know. I have been super lazy with reading this year and want to get out of the slump. If I have a goal in mind I tend to be more motivated.
pickKazuo Ishiguro was as good as I expected it to be. Stylish prose, characters obsessed with getting things done their way. A dream like quality to the narration and an ending all in tones of grey. I loved it.
#anglophileapril #sofaraway
@Cinfhen @Reviewsbylola @Mdargusch @emilyhaldi
pickI loved this book and cannot understand how people found it boring. To me, it was as enjoying a glass of wine on a calm evening. Enjoyable, unhurried, smart.
#QuotsyOct18 Day 18: The day when #conflict ends because people have changed is a day I long for. 🧚🏼♀️
pickI read this book in roughly 8 hours. There were parts where I wasn‘t sure the narrator was reliable. I like books that make me think. I have only read this one book by Ishiguro, but I think he deserved his Nobel Prize in Literature.
bailedDNF @ 26%
This is a very boring book to me. I understand the prose style is crafted to fit the setting and time period, which I didn‘t mind too much, however. Everything else about it is relatively flat and uninteresting, from the characters to the interactions to the unbelievably mundane details of the most inconsequential of actions. I couldn‘t get into it at all.
Since it‘s an early DNF, no rating.
Starting this tonight! It‘ll be my first Ishiguro novel. I‘m hoping it will be a proper escapist experience as I desperately need the distraction. Had to deal w/ a sudden kitty illness that required surgery. Oh the stress has been strong around here.
It‘s about a dude whose parents disappear when he‘s a kid. He moves outta the country & returns after becoming a famous cop w/ hopes of solving the mystery surrounding the parents‘ disappearances.
panMan, what a bummer. I absolutely adored the remains of the day & was so excited about this one. I struggled to get into the characters or their experiences, just seemed dull & one note to me. I finished it because I thought the premise was interesting & he does have a smart way of writing that gives little nibbles about the secret that keeps me reading. I feel like I‘m missing something, I‘m partway through buried giant & feeling similarly...
«Ahora quiero algo diferente, algo cálido y acogedor. Algo que esté ahí, siempre, como el cielo de mañana»
bailedI gave it 3 tries over two days, and now I am giving up. This one is not for me, and I don‘t want to pass on a book to my #lmpbc group that I can‘t even finish!
Hoping it is not a bad sign that the two times i have picked up this book so far, i fall asleep before page 10. 🙀
#catsoflitsy #lmpbc
panI thought I was going to like this one, but . . . no. I wanted to slap Christopher Banks pretty much the entire time.
Starting this new-to-me Ishiguro. Loved Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. His writing is beautiful.
I keep getting distracted from reading books on my TBR pile by other books I have close by when I finish what I am reading. So trying to bring some structure to my life, I decided to place books that I have been meaning to read on the night stand next to my bed. We will see if it works.
so-soRead this one for a paper I'm writing in a few weeks. While I don't normally count books I read for school, I had been planning to read more Ishiguro anyway. It's not my favorite work of his, but the ending made the whole thing worth it. 3/5
pickI enjoyed this, but it's always quite unsettling to read a book by a completely unreliable narrator, and to not really have a clue of the true version of events. Some of the passages when Christopher returned to Shanghai were very reminiscent of 'The Unconsoled', with settings melting each other, and secondary characters seeming to know more about the narrators goals than he did. A good read, not as great as some of Ishiguro's better known works.
so-soMeh. Readable, but nothing really hooked me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ On to something I hope will be the first book I actually like in 2017.
My protagonist is an uppity Brit, who apparently thinks a WAR should not get in the way of his objectives of finding his mommy and daddy. Like seriously, he's grabbed a soldier to escort him through a war zone, and is getting pissy that the soldier is like, "It's too dangerous here. We need to wait."
The writing has been okay so far, but I don't like one single character in this story, and I don't much care what happens to any of them. ?
This one has been on hold for a while. Believe it or not is my book with bad reviews challenge.
#bookssetinasia in my #tbr pile. Looking forward to all of these. #somethingforsept #septphotochallenge
Enjoying everyone's stacks today so thought I would share my latest #bargainbookhaul. Thanks to B&N, Half Price Books, Amazon and Goodwill for providing hours of satisfying book parusement!! 📚❤️🐕🐠🤓
There's a typhoon today so all my students are home from school. Time for me to kick back with some Ishiguro backlist. 🌧☔️📚
so-soMost of my book club enjoyed it but not my favorite. Overall an easy read with good description and interesting characters.
