I have long thought of reading Ishiguro. Another goal for this year is to clear my shelf, which I keep culling and culling as I read more and more library books. This year, however, with the library closed and Kindle library books getting less frequently available, I aim to read the books I actually own. The first one I grabbed off the shelf was When We Were Orphans. I had low expectations that I would enjoy this one, only because it had sat on the shelf for so long. But, boy was I wrong. It sucked you in from the first page and was such a wonderful read. “Born in early-twentieth-century Shanghai, Banks was orphaned at the age of nine after the separate disappearances of his parents. Now, more than twenty years later, he is a celebrated figure in London society; yet the investigative expertise that has garnered him fame has done little to illuminate the circumstances of his parents’ alleged kidnappings. Banks travels to the seething, labyrinthine city of his memory in hopes of solving the mystery of his own, painful past, only to find that war is ravaging Shanghai beyond recognition-and that his own recollections are proving as difficult to trust as the people around him. Masterful, suspenseful and psychologically acute, When We Were Orphans offers a profound meditation on the shifting quality of memory, and the possibility of avenging one’s past.” (Amazon) Luckily, I was able to get Remains of the Day from the library to enjoy later this month. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.