Fiction

Klara and the Sun

Klara and the Sun

  • Downloads：3310
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-15 03:16:44
  • Update Date：2025-09-08
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Kazuo Ishiguro
  • ISBN：B08B8BDLW1
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

Klara and the Sun， the first novel by Kazuo Ishiguro since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature， tells the story of Klara， an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities， who， from her place in the store， watches carefully the behavior 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。

Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator， and one that explores the fundamental question: What does it mean to love？

Download

Reviews

Hoai Thao ，

Interesting theme and narrator （robots/artificial friends in the future world）。 Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian/sci-fi element is subtle and his story telling is poignant as always， leaving me with his very unique dose of lingering sadness in the end。 But somehow feelings are not built up as well as Never Let Me Go （or it’s just my hanging on to an all-time favorite）。 Still a must read anyway。

Darell Philip ，

Heart warming

Pat Becker ，

It’s delightful to witness Klara， an artificial friend （AF） in this just-a-tad-in-the-future story， grapple with her anxieties。 Is she as good as the newer model AFs？ Will she be able to help her person get well？ Her long list of anxieties hint at her observational skills。 She is always looking， seeing， wondering and most of all， caring。 You are left with the wonderful conclusion that Klara’s anxieties， misdirected as they may seem， are a precious asset， a finely tuned radar system aligned with It’s delightful to witness Klara， an artificial friend （AF） in this just-a-tad-in-the-future story， grapple with her anxieties。 Is she as good as the newer model AFs？ Will she be able to help her person get well？ Her long list of anxieties hint at her observational skills。 She is always looking， seeing， wondering and most of all， caring。 You are left with the wonderful conclusion that Klara’s anxieties， misdirected as they may seem， are a precious asset， a finely tuned radar system aligned with the greatest human feature of all: love。 Kazuo Ishiguo’s writing is flawless。 Every scene is effortlessly drawn， every bit of dialogue from Klara feels as if we have been living with AFs for a lifetime。 His writing is understated elegance for a new and uncomfortable world。 。。。more

Alyssa Lentz ，

Reminded me so much of Never Let Me Go in the way it uses technology to examine what makes us human。 I do think there is a necessary distance in this novel and it doesn't have the same emotional connection as NLMG which makes me love it so much， but this one is still compelling and fascinating to read。 Reminded me so much of Never Let Me Go in the way it uses technology to examine what makes us human。 I do think there is a necessary distance in this novel and it doesn't have the same emotional connection as NLMG which makes me love it so much， but this one is still compelling and fascinating to read。 。。。more

Susan Dunker ，

A head scratcher。 I didn't really get it。 Kept reading in hopes of reaching understanding but I never did。 A head scratcher。 I didn't really get it。 Kept reading in hopes of reaching understanding but I never did。 。。。more

Ash Stally-chudasama ，

Eloquently observational and vague - but poetic nonetheless！

Samantha ，

3。5 stars。 What in the world did I just read？ Toy Story meets Brave New World？ I feel like this is one of those books they’d assign as “required reading” because there was so much to infer。 The concept was intriguing and it started in a very interesting way。 However， there were many holes in the plot and I didn’t feel like the author fully connected the dots at the end。 Science fiction is not my typical genre so I’m glad I read something out of my comfort zone。 I think this book had a lot of pot 3。5 stars。 What in the world did I just read？ Toy Story meets Brave New World？ I feel like this is one of those books they’d assign as “required reading” because there was so much to infer。 The concept was intriguing and it started in a very interesting way。 However， there were many holes in the plot and I didn’t feel like the author fully connected the dots at the end。 Science fiction is not my typical genre so I’m glad I read something out of my comfort zone。 I think this book had a lot of potential but I really struggled to connect emotionally throughout。 。。。more

Delia ，

perfect。

Christophe ，

One more masterpiece in the already so sumptuous work of Kazuo Ishiguro ● With each book， Kazuo Ishiguro renews himself and shows incredible creativity and originality。 ● This last opus， Klara and the Sun， can however make one think of Never Let Me Go because the author plays in both with the universe of science fiction， and the story takes place in the perhaps near future。 ● The novel begins in a very peculiar store where artifacts are sold that do not yet exist but may well exist in the future One more masterpiece in the already so sumptuous work of Kazuo Ishiguro ● With each book， Kazuo Ishiguro renews himself and shows incredible creativity and originality。 ● This last opus， Klara and the Sun， can however make one think of Never Let Me Go because the author plays in both with the universe of science fiction， and the story takes place in the perhaps near future。 ● The novel begins in a very peculiar store where artifacts are sold that do not yet exist but may well exist in the future。 A mother and daughter buy one and take it home。 I don't want to spoil the plot any further or reveal the precise nature of the artifact in question， as I discovered it while reading the novel， having previously read no reviews or the back cover， and I think it's much better that way。 ● If there is one characteristic that can be found from book to book in the author's work， it is subtlety， and this latest novel is no exception。 At the same time， the story is breathtaking and we turn the pages at full speed。 All the characters are extremely endearing。 The strangeness of this future world is never really explained， it is up to the reader to imagine what the author does not tell him， but this is in no way a hindrance to the understanding nor to the fluidity of the story。 The humanism of the novel is admirable。 It asks essential questions but without any heaviness: what makes us human beings？ What is our specificity？ Where is scientific and technical progress taking us？ The ending is sublime and poignant。 ● I highly recommend this book！ 。。。more

Raphael Augusto ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I never read anything else by Kazuo Ishiguro， but needless to say， my expectations were pretty high， both because he is a Nobel Prize winning author and because each and every day when I refreshed this page tons and tons of positive reviews kept appearing。Klara is a magnificent character， an Artificial Friend whose purpose is to care for elite children and teenagers。 The first couple of chapters are truly great and， unfortunately， not reflective of the rest of the book。 In them， we learn who Kla I never read anything else by Kazuo Ishiguro， but needless to say， my expectations were pretty high， both because he is a Nobel Prize winning author and because each and every day when I refreshed this page tons and tons of positive reviews kept appearing。Klara is a magnificent character， an Artificial Friend whose purpose is to care for elite children and teenagers。 The first couple of chapters are truly great and， unfortunately， not reflective of the rest of the book。 In them， we learn who Klara is， how she behaves and learns in her store （and the small dynamics that happen in there， like the decisions over who will be the ones at the store front）。 Her unique ability to observe and just the hint that every AF is， in its own， particular， made me devour these first pages。But then， it becomes flat。 The characters do not feel very real。 Josie resembles a 9 year old， and it's very clear from day one that she is sick and that that is where the plot will head - and the rest of the cast is just overall unlikeable （Mother， Father， Rick， Miss Hellen， etc。）。The author delivers the story very skilfully， that's true。 Klara's lens is very interesting， and because the book is entirely delivered by her account， the reader is always at the brink of finding important things out， but never quite reaches that place。In short， I was disappointed。 I wanted to care for the characters， because this is clearly not too much of a plot-reliant story， but that didn't happen。 The ending was sad， in its own way， but I couldn't care enough to be too sad myself。 。。。more

Liselotte Howard ，

Vi skulle kunna skylla på "post-Nobelpris"。 Eller "försöker sig på att vara teknisk relevant och tar sig därför vatten över huvudet" （ja， jag tittar på dig Ian McEwan）。 Eller till och med att jag som mamma inte riktigt pallar premissen。Men det handlar nog egentligen om att Ishiguro skriver i diverse genres， och att jag bara gillar "äldre gentlemän på brittiskt gods"-diton。 The Remains of the Day är en av mina favoritböcker， men jag tyckte Buried Giants （typ fantasy？） var genomtrist， och gillade Vi skulle kunna skylla på "post-Nobelpris"。 Eller "försöker sig på att vara teknisk relevant och tar sig därför vatten över huvudet" （ja， jag tittar på dig Ian McEwan）。 Eller till och med att jag som mamma inte riktigt pallar premissen。Men det handlar nog egentligen om att Ishiguro skriver i diverse genres， och att jag bara gillar "äldre gentlemän på brittiskt gods"-diton。 The Remains of the Day är en av mina favoritböcker， men jag tyckte Buried Giants （typ fantasy？） var genomtrist， och gillade inte ens Never Let Me Go （sci-fi？） särskilt mycket som film。 Och jag gillar inte det här。 Ishuguro ska ha cred för att han inte försöker sig på några tekniska förklaringar （det kommer göra att boken rent teknik-påhittigt kommer hålla längre）， och det är svårt att tycka direkt illa om Klara。 Men jag bryr mig inte heller särskilt mycket om henne， och alldeles för stora delar av boken består av tomma utfyllnadssträckor。 Jag väntar på att det ska komma igång， att nåt ska hända， känslor ska utvecklas。。。 men vi landar bara i den klassiska robot- vs människagrejen om "finns det en själ"， typ。Den här bokens själ förblir dold för mig。Ge mig en butler och en hushållerska nästa gång！P。s。 Varför är hushållerskan i boken så trist， och med töntig brytning？ Känns nedvärderande att ens ha med henne。 D。s。 。。。more

Leslie P。 ，

Wow！ Another great read from Kazuo Ishiguro。 I loved Never Let Me Go， so Klara and the Sun was on my list for sure。 There are similarities， but each book is its own thing。 I do love near-future dystopian fiction and if that is up your alley， this book is a must read。

Margrieta ，

"It must be great not to miss things。 Not to long to get back to something。 Not to be looking back all the time”。 #KazuoIshiguro #KlaraAndTheSun #Faber Genre: #Sci-Fi #Contemprorary #Fiction My rating: 4，75 /5 GR: 4，20/5 There is something very deep and very special about this book。 I have a lot of respect to Mr。Ishiguro， I think he’s extremely talented author and his works are exceptional。 I was worried that this book might have been over-hyped， and not be as good as his previous works， but luc "It must be great not to miss things。 Not to long to get back to something。 Not to be looking back all the time”。 #KazuoIshiguro #KlaraAndTheSun #Faber Genre: #Sci-Fi #Contemprorary #Fiction My rating: 4，75 /5 GR: 4，20/5 There is something very deep and very special about this book。 I have a lot of respect to Mr。Ishiguro， I think he’s extremely talented author and his works are exceptional。 I was worried that this book might have been over-hyped， and not be as good as his previous works， but luckily it was definitely worth reading！ Klara is AF （artificial-friend） she’s extremely curious humanoid。 She observes the world around her and tries to understand ways of society as well as why certain behaviors are happening in humans。 She meets her friend Josie and gets to live with her in the same house， meeting her friends， family， getting acquainted with family's issues and grief。 In some ways this book reminded me of another Ishiguros work: “Never let me go”， there is so many similar concepts。 Purpose of person’s life。 What makes up our personality。 What determines who we become。 How certain views， opinions about something can change the world around you and how this same world can change you and your believes。 An interesting thought also on what’s the difference between human and robot？ What makes us different？ I loved how Klara learned compassion and empathy through different situations that she hasn’t experienced before。 It’s like taking child’s steps towards becoming a grown up。 There are also topics such as class difference， child and parent relationships。 This book just felt so real， all societies ignorance towards certain issues， delusions that we choose to believe in， just to avoid reality。 Wonderful book， definitely one of the year's best and must-read books。 I didn’t rate it with 5 stars， only because I was lacking something in the end， in a way I wanted a bit more。。。 Have you read any Ishiguro’s books？ What do you think about authors writing style？ 。。。more

Ana ，

AFs （artificial friends） are robots created to keep children and teenagers company so that they don't feel lonely。 In the world created by Kazuo， children have little contact with each other （not unlike our world post covid）。 Their classes are all online and they meet from time to time to interact。 The storyteller is Klara， an extremely intelligent， observant， and curious AF， but at the same time quite naive。 Klara narrates her perceptions about humans， which are often more accurate than the per AFs （artificial friends） are robots created to keep children and teenagers company so that they don't feel lonely。 In the world created by Kazuo， children have little contact with each other （not unlike our world post covid）。 Their classes are all online and they meet from time to time to interact。 The storyteller is Klara， an extremely intelligent， observant， and curious AF， but at the same time quite naive。 Klara narrates her perceptions about humans， which are often more accurate than the perception humans have of themselves。The choice to place a non-human as a narrator was essential in this story。 I have never loved a robot before as I loved Klara。 And I have never been as grateful for the sun's nourishment as I have been through Klara's eyes。 。。。more

Drew Davis ，

Absolutely beautiful exploration of what it means to be human and the different ways that people can care for others。Based on themes and prose， it feels like the follow up to Never Let Me Go in a way。 To be honest， I was iffy on NLMG but I absolutely loved Klara and the Sun。

Susan Santangelo ，

A compelling read。。。This novel can be read as a fable， a lesson， a love story， a fairy tale， a warning。 It， like life， is happy and sad， uplifting and discouraging; all the while， it’s fascinating。 Read it。

Tarandeep Kang ，

Brilliant！ A real rollercoaster of emotions， he manages to make you feel great sympathy for the childlike wonder of the narrator， and also Joy in the strength of some of the relationships。 He breaks the heart of the reader， several times over。 The pros is， as would be expected， gorgeous。The novel tackles grand ethical and philosophical themes， love， death， grief， mixed with a more modern concerns of the nature of artificial intelligence。 To some extent this novel covers similar ground to that of Brilliant！ A real rollercoaster of emotions， he manages to make you feel great sympathy for the childlike wonder of the narrator， and also Joy in the strength of some of the relationships。 He breaks the heart of the reader， several times over。 The pros is， as would be expected， gorgeous。The novel tackles grand ethical and philosophical themes， love， death， grief， mixed with a more modern concerns of the nature of artificial intelligence。 To some extent this novel covers similar ground to that of the most recent novel by Ian McEwan， yeah I find the premise here more original， and the engagement with these topics to be deeper and richer。I have unreservedly loved everything he has ever written， that I have read， and this is no exception！ Please do yourself a favour and read it！ 。。。more

Barbara ，

3。5 stars: “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro is an interesting story told by Klara， who is basically a robot。 Ishiguro provides his writing the freedom of telling his story through innocent， non-emotional insights by using Klara。 Klara is an AF， and Artificial Friend。 Think of Rosie in the Jetsons。 Klara is a humanoid machine， built for the sole purpose of companionship。 The story begins with Klara in a toy store。 Klara’s favorite spot is being in the window of the store。 This position allow 3。5 stars: “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro is an interesting story told by Klara， who is basically a robot。 Ishiguro provides his writing the freedom of telling his story through innocent， non-emotional insights by using Klara。 Klara is an AF， and Artificial Friend。 Think of Rosie in the Jetsons。 Klara is a humanoid machine， built for the sole purpose of companionship。 The story begins with Klara in a toy store。 Klara’s favorite spot is being in the window of the store。 This position allows Klara to see humans and watch their behaviors。 With Klara’s observations， she intends to use these bites of information to be the best possible AF。A sickly girl， Josie， comes into the store and falls in love with Klara。 Time doesn’t allow for her to purchase Klara， and Josie promises to come back to get her。 Josie’s illness is a mystery until later in the story。 The reader knows that some children have been “lifted” and are in a better position to go to college， gain employment， and be successful。 What is involved in being lifted is only alluded to， by Josie’s mother。Josie does come back and purchases Klara， but only after Josie’s mother makes Klara pass a test。 The mother’s interest in Klara’s find tuned observations is what allows Josie to get Klara。 Once at home with Josie， Klara makes many interesting observations of Josie’s homelife and social life。 Some observations are perplexing to Klara and allows Ishiguro to provide some subtle humor。 Josie begins to experience more sick days。 Klara is solar powered， and because of this， she adores the sun。 In fact， she comes up with the idea of providing gifts to the sun to help Josie。 In Klara’s view， the sun is all powerful， and provides the source of life。Ishiguro writes a futuristic story about artificial intelligence taking over the workplace and going as far as “buying” friends for your child。 This story is about how far our society could go in creating robots to replace humans。 Yet， there is a question of the basic human emotion: love。 Can an artificial intelligent being provide and receive love？I enjoyed this story。 It does provide some fodder with regard to how far humans should be replaced。 This is borderline sci-fi， similar to “Never Let Me Go。” There were no robots in that story， but he questioned how far we could go in procuring future health。 I listened to audio production， narrated by Sura Siu。 。。。more

Zhenyu Han ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I am very disappointed。 It is a fairy tale on a scientific background rather than a sci-fi。

Summer Xia ，

It is not one of his best books。 It is similar to Never Let Me Go in terms of the topic， but it’s not getting closer to the way you are left to feel after reading Never Let Me Go。 I feel the author was almost too obvious to mimic his own work， but sadly any sequel is almost doomed to fail。 It is a sequel in an emotional sense。 It is still catchy， and his writing style is still 90% pleasant， except only for the awkward way in which Klara speaks。 And that is intended， but not necessary， to my opin It is not one of his best books。 It is similar to Never Let Me Go in terms of the topic， but it’s not getting closer to the way you are left to feel after reading Never Let Me Go。 I feel the author was almost too obvious to mimic his own work， but sadly any sequel is almost doomed to fail。 It is a sequel in an emotional sense。 It is still catchy， and his writing style is still 90% pleasant， except only for the awkward way in which Klara speaks。 And that is intended， but not necessary， to my opinion。 。。。more

Paul O'farrell ，

I'm torn by this one。 I love Ishiguro and this book carries many of the hallmarks of great Ishiguro writing。 Some bits， however， aren't as subtly or convincingly drawn or perhaps the ideas behind them aren't as well developed as， say， Never Let Me Go。He still writes better than virtually any living writer and there are some beautiful moments。 I'm torn by this one。 I love Ishiguro and this book carries many of the hallmarks of great Ishiguro writing。 Some bits， however， aren't as subtly or convincingly drawn or perhaps the ideas behind them aren't as well developed as， say， Never Let Me Go。He still writes better than virtually any living writer and there are some beautiful moments。 。。。more

Rareș ，

Uhm。。。 2。5/5 I had very high expectations， and it did not quite deliver - perhaps I was hoping for something more dramatic， more ravaging， more wicked or twisted after reading “Never Let Me Go”。It started off promising but slowly turned out relatively flat。 Nevertheless， it is not poorly written， and if you’re after a dystopian but somehow hopeful meditation on life， give it a go。

Harinder ，

What I particularly love about Ishiguro's writing is how he can describe people and their feelings at an intricate level of detail， nuance and subtlety。 He catches shades and flickers of feeling and expression that most other writers would gloss over。 So his novels are a bit like looking at a miniature painting which has been painted with a single hair - his picture is made up of very fine brushstrokes and detail。In this way， Klara and the Sun is like the other Ishiguro novels I've read and love What I particularly love about Ishiguro's writing is how he can describe people and their feelings at an intricate level of detail， nuance and subtlety。 He catches shades and flickers of feeling and expression that most other writers would gloss over。 So his novels are a bit like looking at a miniature painting which has been painted with a single hair - his picture is made up of very fine brushstrokes and detail。In this way， Klara and the Sun is like the other Ishiguro novels I've read and loved （and even those I haven't loved， like The Unconsoled）。 Not only can Klara， the Artificial Friend， detect very fine shades of human emotion， but Ishiguro also builds our empathy with Klara through the detail in which he describes Klara's feelings and thoughts。 And while this is about a being that exists to serve the needs of another being， it really lacks the emotional punch of Never Let Me Go。 It may be because Klara as the narrator is not human， so emotions are damped down throughout。 But I found it hard in this book to really empathise and identify deeply with any of the characters。 They all seemed a bit two-dimensional， for some reason。 It's still a good story and an interesting read， but not， for me， one of my favourite Ishiguro novels。 。。。more

Tor Gar ，

Meh！Es un libro que tendrá su público peo desde luego no soy yo。Lo que cuenta no lo desarrolla de forma que me podría gustar， no profundiza。 Como lo cuenta me resulta intrascendente。 Y los personajes no me importan nada。No es malo ni horrible， tampoco te crea demasiado la sensación de haber perdido el tiempo。 Pero lo he perdido。

Maura ，

3。5 stars

Jeremy ，

An oddly sterile book from the usually reliable Ishiguro。 A sort of cross between The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go， it lacks the emotional undercurrents of either。 It’s a shame， because he seemed to be heading in that direction， but the novel lost steam as it progressed， until it finally halted completely。

Shaundra ，

This fell flat for me。 No clever reveal， childish， and themes that went nowhere。

Linda Eguchi ，

This type of book is generally not my cup of tea， but Ishiguro does create a compelling character in Klara， an AF （artificial friend） who is sold to be a companion to a sickly teenage girl。 I guess the only thing I really liked about the book was the purity of Klara's spirit。 She is highly observant and wants to do the best for everyone。 She's even willing to sacrifice something vital to her very being in order to make life better for others。 Really though， too many things are not fleshed out or This type of book is generally not my cup of tea， but Ishiguro does create a compelling character in Klara， an AF （artificial friend） who is sold to be a companion to a sickly teenage girl。 I guess the only thing I really liked about the book was the purity of Klara's spirit。 She is highly observant and wants to do the best for everyone。 She's even willing to sacrifice something vital to her very being in order to make life better for others。 Really though， too many things are not fleshed out or ultimately clarified。 A mention of something here， something else there， but so little development and/or resolution。 The tone of the book is strange and， to me， unpleasant。 The world the author creates feels cold and just too odd。 Ultimately very unsatisfying。 I may be in the minority on this one。 。。。more

Loumo ，

Esperaba mucho más luego de leer los restos del día， no es mala pero es una historia algo ligera， （se asemeja a un cuento para niños） con temas ya familiares。 Me pareció entretenida pero nada más que eso。

Drake Merritt ，

Best book I’ve read this year！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Klara and the Sun

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Klara and the Sun&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Klara and the Sun&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0