Talk:When We Were Orphans

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he does not go to his grandother in england, he goes to his aunt.

That's right, it's his aunt. I'll change it. Skinnyweed 15:50, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

Having just finished the book, I'm left wondering to what extent we can believe anything that this narrator tells us about what might or might not have 'happened'. Isn't it just possible, for instance, that the woman he describes as his mother at the end of the novel is no-one of the sort? He doesn't want to take her home, doesn't wish her to be buried there and she doesn't physically resemble his mother. Maybe she is a manifestation of his wishes or regrets. Equally, I don't accept at face value the description of what happened to his parents. His mother became a prostitute to save him from destitution? Could it be that this is childhood guilt and shame finding expression / resolution through a terrible sort of fantasy?

On a basic level - with a narrator this unreliable, how can we relate the 'story' in a meaningful way? I'd be very interested in your thoughts.