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When We Were Orphans

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When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro's is told by the narrator and main character of the story, Christopher Banks. Banks was a strange man and he narrates an odd story, but he speaks with sureness about this story that took place in his life. He gives off a foolish persona throughout his story, but his story is quite fascinating as I read on. Banks was a detective throughout the novel and the mystery disappearance of his parents is his mission throughout the story. Banks was an Englishman but after his parents disappeared, he spent most of his childhood in Shanghai. The story contains several unexpected twists that add to the imagery of the story. Banks is an unreliable author throughout the story. The book is divided in order by the years 1930-1937 and then jumps to 1958 . Banks discusses some of his memories by jumping back and forth in time to give the reader a mental image of what he was trying to explain. The book is full of different flashbacks that the author uses to illustrate what the narrator is discussing. . The books begins in England when Banks first starts talking the time after he graduated and moved to London. Banks also describes how he is sure of his ability to become a detective. Banks is being unreliable at the beginning of the story because he is trying …show more content…

He found out that his father had left Shanghai and died in Singapore. His mother was kidnapped by a militant to be his mistress. Banks found her in a mental institute in Hong Kong. The ending of the story is set over than twenty years later, time has gone for him recognize reality. This is another way he is found to be an unreliable narrator. We, as readers don’t quite know what happened in between that period of time, so that doesn’t help conclude his story and doesn’t leave the reader with some type of interpretation or message in the

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