When We Were Orphans
British and Japanese novelist, born 1954. Won the Costa Novel Award in 1986 and the Booker Prize in 1989.
When We Were Orphans is a 2000 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2000.
On 2 of the 20 lists it was eligible for.
The Novel Index earns a small commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our rankings. More about how we earn.
At a glance
- Author
- Kazuo Ishiguro
- First published
- 2000
- Length
- 320 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- Booker Prize shortlist, 2000
- Costa Novel Award shortlist, 2000
- Genre
- Crime and mystery, War and conflict, Psychological, Empire and colonialism
Is When We Were Orphans worth reading?
2 of the 20 best-of lists it could have made include it: the Booker Prize and the Costa Novel Award.
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| Booker Prize (winners and shortlists) (Booker Prize Foundation, 2000) | Shortlist | See the list |
| Costa (Whitbread) Novel Award (winners and shortlists) (Costa, 2000) | Shortlist | See the list |
Best edition of When We Were Orphans
The edition we link to is the Faber & Faber paperback (2013), 320 pages.
- Publisher
- Faber & Faber (paperback, 2013)
- Pages
- 320
- ISBN
- 9780571283880
How critics, prizes and readers rate When We Were Orphans
Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 44% of the points available on prize lists, against 0% on critics' lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like When We Were Orphans
If you liked When We Were Orphans, try Never Let Me Go, The Remains of the Day or An Artist of the Floating World.
