A beautifully written but somewhat grim story which I read in one sitting during a flight. The plot revolves around a man, Christopher Banks, who was brought up in Shanghai in the 1910s but was brought back to England as a child when both of his parents went missing within months of each other. As a young man who has become a famous private detective, he decides to go back to China and use his investigative skills to find out what happened to his parents.
The actual investigation is only alluded to - Banks seems to do a lot of the boring research off-stage and it is not really the point of the book. The main focus is Christopher's inner life and the effect wrought on him by growing up with such a mysterious event permanently at the back of his mind. When he does eventually find out some of the truth, the impact it has on him seems less than I would have expected, but it's still more than worth reading, especially if you're interested in the Far East.

Released at monthly BookCrossing meetup

Acquired at the meetup. It's got Asian content and therefore must be read in the world on me. Split between China and Shanghai during the Japanese occupation. The detective protagonist must discover whether his parents are still alive and hostage.

Bringing to the meet up for Author-I theme. Not sure what to make of the book.

Picked up at this evening's York bookcrossing meet up as I've never read any Ishiguro but feel like I should.

Finally got round to reading this. A well -written book and although it's certainly not uplifting I was absorbed all the way through.

I gave this one to my dad as he needed a book to read and I thought he'd enjoy it.