1
of
1
When We Were Orphans
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 46,475 ratings, 4,689 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
Unit price
/
Unavailable
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY
Found a better price? Request a price match
When We Were Orphans
$2799
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
A novel of memory and loss, set between London of the 1930s and Shanghai between the wars.
When We Were Orphans is the a compelling thriller by Kazuo Ishiguro, Booker Prize-winning author ofThe Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go, and The Buried Giant. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
England, 1930s. Christopher Banks has become the country's most celebrated detective, his cases the talk of London society. Yet one unsolved crime has always haunted him: the mysterious disappearance of his parents, in old Shanghai, when he was a small boy.
Moving between London and Shanghai of the inter-war years, When We Were Orphans is a remarkable story of memory, intrigue and the need to return.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780571283880
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 07 February 2013
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Faber & Faber
Edition: Main - Re-issue
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 19.0mm
Width: 126.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 260g
Pages: 320
About the Author
Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1954 and came to Britain at the age of five. He is the author of seven A Pale View of Hills, An Artist of the Floating World, The Remains of the Day, The Unconsoled, When We Were Orphans, Never Let Me Go and Nocturnes. In 1995 Ishiguro received an OBE for Services to Literature, and in 1998 the French decoration of Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.
Also by Kazuo Ishiguro
View all-
The Remains of the Day
From the Nobel Prize-winning author of Never Let Me Go. In the summer of 1956, Stevens, the ageing butler of Darlington Hall, embarks on a leisurely holiday that will take him deep into the countryside and into his past. A contemporary classic, The Remains of the Day is Kazuo Ishiguro's beautiful and haunting evocation of life between the wars in...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Klara and the Sun
From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid August -
An Artist of the Floating World
Set in post-World War II Japan, An Artist of the Floating World follows the journey of Masuji Ono, a once-celebrated painter who now finds himself navigating the complexities of a rapidly changing society. It is 1948, and Japan is in the throes of reconstruction, seeking to overcome the devastation of war and rebuild its cities and spirit. Amidst this backdrop,...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Nocturnes
βIt was our third time playing the Godfather theme since lunch.β In a sublime story cycle, Kazuo Ishiguro explores ideas of love, music and the passing of time. From the piazzas of Italy to the Malvern Hills, a London flat to the 'hush-hush floor' of an exclusive Hollywood hotel, the characters we encounter range from young dreamers to cafe musicians...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Buried Giant
From Kazuo Ishiguro, the acclaimed author of Never Let Me Go and the Booker Prize-winning The Remains of the Day, comes an extraordinary new novel, The Buried Giant. Set in a post-Roman Britain slowly descending into ruin, this masterful tale unfolds in an ancient landscape marked by mist and rain where memory and history are shrouded in mystery. The narrative...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Never Let Me Go
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a masterfully crafted novel that transports readers into the lives of a group of students at Hailsham, an ostensibly picturesque boarding school nestled in the English countryside. At first glance, Hailsham seems like an ideal educational institution, fostering creativity and personal development among its pupils. Yet, as the story unfolds, a darker...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid August -
Never Let Me Go
An elegant hardback edition of one of the Nobel Prize-winning author's most acclaimed novels - a moving and stunningly original love story with a startling twist. As children, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy attended an exclusive boarding school in the English countryside. Idyllic in some ways yet vaguely sinister, Hailsham was a place of intense friendships, mysterious rules, and 'guardians' who...Hardback$3600Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
A Pale View of Hills
In his highly acclaimed debut novel, A Pale View of Hills, Kazuo Ishiguro delicately unravels the melancholic tale of Etsuko, a Japanese woman now living in England. Reflecting on the tragic recent suicide of her daughter, Etsuko seeks solace by retreating into memories of a past life. The narrative gracefully transports readers to a sweltering summer in post-war Nagasaki, where...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Pre-orderMiss Lambert Steps Aboard Danger
From one of the great storytellers of our time, an exquisite spy novelβa disarming and memorable caper, in which not everything is quite as it seems. At first, I took you for a charming jewel thief. London, 1938. After attending a music hall matinee, Richard Hadley has an unexpected encounter with the mysterious Miss Lambert. Over a shared love of...Paperback$6999Unit price /UnavailableOut 9 Mar 2027Pre-order -
Pre-order
Miss Lambert Steps Aboard Danger
From one of the great storytellers of our time, an exquisite spy novelβa disarming and memorable caper, in which not everything is quite as it seems. At first, I took you for a charming jewel thief. London, 1938. After attending a music hall matinee, Richard Hadley has an unexpected encounter with the mysterious Miss Lambert. Over a shared love of...Hardcover$6799Unit price /UnavailableOut 9 Mar 2027Pre-order -
Never Let Me Go
From the acclaimed author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, a moving new novel that subtly reimagines our world and time in a haunting story of friendship and love. As a child, Kathyβnow thirty-one years oldβlived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world,...Paperback$5100Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Never Let Me Go
THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLERA NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE 21ST CENTURY 'Masterly.' Sunday Times'A brilliantly executed book by a master craftsman.' MARGARET ATWOOD'A page-turner and a heartbreaker, a tour de force of knotted tension and buried anguish.' TIME Complete with a brand new introduction from the Nobel Prize-winning author. A beautiful anniversary edition to mark twenty years of...Hardback$4999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
More from General Fiction
View all-
The Wedding People
'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people β but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...Set$12400Elsewhere:$15500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Theo of Golden
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came fromβ¦His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance β...Paperback$2899Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Score
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Goal
Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Mistake
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Mistake now for the perfect second chance romance! He's a player in more ways than one . . . College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants....Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New Release
Yesteryear
A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE β Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE β Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE β Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS β Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale β Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New ReleaseOn Mystic Lake
One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...Paperback$3100Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Legacy
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from the Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Legacy now for the much-anticipated answer to the question: Where are they now? Four stories. Four couples. Three years of real life after graduation . . . A wedding....Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New ReleaseLand
Inspired by the mapping of Ireland in the mid nineteenth century, Land, theΒ new novel from the author of Hamnet, is at once intimate and epic: a portrait of a family navigating a legacy of upheaval and loss with love and hope. On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, TomΓ‘s and his reluctant son,Β Liam, are working for the great...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Signed BookplateNew ReleaseLight Wielder
THE EPIC CONCLUSION TO METAL SLINGER, AKA THE BOOK WITH THE PLOT TWIST THAT BROKE THE INTERNET Sail the seas. Master the blade. Protect your heart. What would you do to have it all? READERS ARE GOING WILD FOR *METAL SLINGER* βThe BEST plot twist to ever grace my Kindleβ βββββ βThe author is a mastermind. Romantasy is back!!!!β βββββ...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
General Fiction lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Hannah's listGeneral Fiction
Gothic Reads for Dark Nights
With the advent of movie adaptations like Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, it looks like pop culture is seeing a revival of the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Top 10 Most Recommended Books
These are my Top 10 books that I always recommend to my friends and whΔnau when they ask for recommendations for getting...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Books to Escape a Reading Slump
A reading slump can be a frustrating feeling and hard to break out of, but we've gathered together a list of crowd...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![Star Shipped]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Pride Fiction Picks!
June marks Global Pride Month so in case you're looking for your next great fiction read, here's a list of some of...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Readersβ Top 100 Novels of All Time - from The Guardian
There was some controversy when The Guardian released their critics and authors list of the top 100 novels of all time, but...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Favourite Books of 2026
The first half of 2026 has been packed with brilliant books, making it hard to choose favourites but here are a few...View the list
