Kazuo Ishiguro

Kathy, Ruth and Tommy were pupils at Hailsham - an idyllic establishment situated deep in the English countryside. The children there were tenderly sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe they were special, and that their personal welfare was crucial. But for what reason were they really there?

In 1930s England, Christopher Banks has become one of the country's most celebrated detectives. His cases are the talk of London society. Yet one mystery has always haunted him, the disappearance of his parents in Old Shanghai, when he was a boy.

This novel tells the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her.

Gentle, intimate and witty, this quintet is marked by a haunting theme - the struggle to keep alive a sense of life's romance, even as one gets older, relationships flounder and youthful hopes recede.