Klara And The Sun
By
Kazuo Ishiguro
Klara And The Sun, is written by Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro who is also the author of the bestselling books titled Never Let Me Go and Remains Of The Day. This is my first time reading Ishiguro so I didn’t quite know what to expect. I was captivated and haunted at the same time. The novel speaks to the use of AI, loneliness, social standards and more. I felt like there were too many themes in the book which made it feel a bit disjoined for me at times. Nonetheless, the author is a beautiful and gifted writer and I now want to read Remains Of The Day as I loved the movie.
As for this novel, I ‘ll do my best at describing how several of the themes play out without giving too much away. Klara is an artificial friend chosen by a girl with what appears to be a terminal illness. The girl’s mother asks Klara to really get to know her daughter deeply including her physical as well as emotional attributes. As it turns out, the mother’s request is a bit morbid.
The young sick child, Josie, is kept isolated by her mother who works long hours. Josie takes her classes online (sound eerily familiar) and has little interaction with other humans except for a neighbor boy named Rick who is also socially isolated. Josie and Rick have a “plan’ but Josie's mother doesn’t find Rick suitable.
Several scenes in the novel include Josie interacting with others of a similar age during a “forced” social event. Here we learn about the haves and have nots in this society and there is also a flavor of “Mean Girls” included in the social event.
Although I thought the book was weird at times, I wanted to continue reading to discover what would happen at the end and I am glad I hung in there. Klara And The Sun is a quick read if you are in the mood for something different. This novel is definitely different.
