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Klara and the Sun

Klara and the Sun

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-18 08:16:28
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Kazuo Ishiguro
  • ISBN：0735281246
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Summary

The magnificent new novel from Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro--author of Never Let Me Go and the Booker Prize-winning The Remains of the Day 。

"The Sun always has ways to reach us。"

From her place in the store， Klara， an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities， watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse， and of those who pass in the street outside。 She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her， but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever， Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans。

In Klara and the Sun， Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love？

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Reviews

Demelda Penkitty ，

The Sun always has ways to reach us。'From her place in the store， Klara， an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities， watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse， and of those who pass in the street outside。 She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her， but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change for ever， Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans。In Klara and the Sun， his first novel since winning the Nobe The Sun always has ways to reach us。'From her place in the store， Klara， an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities， watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse， and of those who pass in the street outside。 She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her， but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change for ever， Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans。In Klara and the Sun， his first novel since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature， Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly-changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love？Incredibly moving in parts。 Klara is a machine， she talks rather oddly and she sees in tessellated fragments that only coalesce into a rational view of her surroundings as she learns to understand them。 Yet Ishiguro’s Artificial Friend， was still able to move me to tears。 She is unconditionally good， even when used cruelly。I enjoyed Klara and the Sun emensly， the writing was beautiful and captured very sweet moment's from Klara's perspective。 This is a novel about love and loving， and the complex interplay of emotions that makes us human， but also a novel about the nature of faith and of good and evil in a dystopian future。 。。。more

Rakıdabalık ，

Beautiful story。 I do not know what to say about the book。 I read it with great expectation， but it was an average book for me。

Aaron ，

This was a very nice read， i am especially happy that i enjoyed it as i didn't have the same experience with "never let me go"。Upon finishing i found myself comparing it with Mcewans "machines like me"， i think his novel left me pondering the ethics surrounding AI more so than Klara & the sun。However i think i enjoyed Ishiguro' novel much more， the characters are infinitely more memorable。 This was a very nice read， i am especially happy that i enjoyed it as i didn't have the same experience with "never let me go"。Upon finishing i found myself comparing it with Mcewans "machines like me"， i think his novel left me pondering the ethics surrounding AI more so than Klara & the sun。However i think i enjoyed Ishiguro' novel much more， the characters are infinitely more memorable。 。。。more

Lise Haagen ，

As always Kazuo descripes the persons feelings so beautifully， that You can actually feel them yourself。 I love how he takes up a topic like AI without judgement。 He lets the reader think for themself。I totally lost my heart to Klara。

Katja ，

Sehr schöne Idee und Story an sich， aber der Erzählstil aus Perspektive der AI wird irgendwann sehr ermüdend und langatmig。 War froh， als es rum war。 Außerdem bleibt die Geschichte durch die naive Erzählweise sehr an der Oberfläche und viele Fragen werden nie beantwortet。

Gabby Humphreys ，

Klara is a essentially a robot， but bare with me， because this is not some kids plot （although no tea， because I do fucking love the film robots）。Despite telling you that this book is mature I am now going to tell you the plot in basic mode and make it seem like a kids book again。 Klara is an Artificial Friend， AF， whose USP is their attention to detail and observation skills in store。 Store life is pretty drab， although the AFs are on a rota to be in the store window which is fun because you ca Klara is a essentially a robot， but bare with me， because this is not some kids plot （although no tea， because I do fucking love the film robots）。Despite telling you that this book is mature I am now going to tell you the plot in basic mode and make it seem like a kids book again。 Klara is an Artificial Friend， AF， whose USP is their attention to detail and observation skills in store。 Store life is pretty drab， although the AFs are on a rota to be in the store window which is fun because you can see the sun。 Klara likes the sun， hence the title; Klara and the Sun。 In fact， all AFs like the sun。 It gives them energy and they see it as a healing tool。 Klara also likes Josie， a girl who comes to the store every so often， who ends up buying Klara （not a spoiler）。 The book then goes from store life in the first of five sections， to life with Josie。I actually bought this book on a whim。 It was winking at me， and by that I mean the sexy as fuck cover， and that sprayed edge circle that LINES UP WITH THE COVER。 It also sounded v intriguing and I had a bday voucher to splash。 This is pretty fun because Ishiguro literally won the Novel Prize in Literature in 2017。 Always down with the kids， me xFair play to him， because this book got me well and good。 I couldn’t stop thinking about it。 Sometimes a book takes over my timings。 For example， 5:30 to bedtime become book time。 Klara and the Sun did this。This book even successfully distracted me from the absolute shit show of a world rn。 I know that it’s a privilege to be able to bury your head， but I rly am lady gaga on the edge right now， and it is not the edge of glory。Because I can sometimes stop chatting shit and come up with a good line， have this: Ishiguro’s writing is somehow so descriptive and rich， but in such few words that I found myself checking the page numbers。 It is absolutely crafted， and not just in terms of descriptives， but also concepts。 Questioning love， empathy and what makes an individual themselves， this book is beautiful。And now to ruin that mood:To Ishi，I demand a sequel。 And a prequel。Please。Love Gabby x@humph_reads 。。。more

andrea freud ，

As brilliant and sad as ever，this book does not disappoint。 Like most of his narrators， Clara the robot does the best she can to make sense of her fragmented， ruined environment， striving for connection but able to see only "through a glass， darkly。" I found Never let You Go， Ishiguro's last novel， so deeply disturbing that I actually warned my friends not to read it。 This isn't that bad （ I don't think it will give me nightmares） The novel falters in a few places but its good to hear his unmist As brilliant and sad as ever，this book does not disappoint。 Like most of his narrators， Clara the robot does the best she can to make sense of her fragmented， ruined environment， striving for connection but able to see only "through a glass， darkly。" I found Never let You Go， Ishiguro's last novel， so deeply disturbing that I actually warned my friends not to read it。 This isn't that bad （ I don't think it will give me nightmares） The novel falters in a few places but its good to hear his unmistakable voice again。 。。。more

Mari Carmen ，

Otra lectura atroz del año。La sinopsis pintaba bien y ahí queda todo。 Aburrido， pesado， sin sentido。 Lo único que valía la pena de la trama se va al garete。 El final malo no， lo siguiente。No lo recomiendo para nada。

JD ，

Profound。Disturbing。Metaphorical。Can we always understandwhat happens in our lives and in the lives of others？Can we be programmed for compassion？ Klara， the Artificial Friend， observes， understands 。。。。。。 and sometime sees where the humans seem to be lost。

Lizzy Wizzy ，

“We’re both of us sentimental。 We can’t help it。 Our generation still carry the old feelings。 A part of us refuses to let go。 The part that wants to keep believing there’s something unreachable inside each of us。 Something that’s unique and won’t transfer。 But there’s nothing like that， we know that now。 /You/ know that。。。 There’s nothing there。 Nothing inside Josie that’s beyond the Klaras of this world to continue。。。 It’s not faith you need。 Only rationality。”Klara and the Sun is told through “We’re both of us sentimental。 We can’t help it。 Our generation still carry the old feelings。 A part of us refuses to let go。 The part that wants to keep believing there’s something unreachable inside each of us。 Something that’s unique and won’t transfer。 But there’s nothing like that， we know that now。 /You/ know that。。。 There’s nothing there。 Nothing inside Josie that’s beyond the Klaras of this world to continue。。。 It’s not faith you need。 Only rationality。”Klara and the Sun is told through the voice of an AI， totally new to the world， who is all the time gradually working out the nuances of human interaction。 The novel opens with Klara on display in a retail store， like a puppy in the window， longing to be taken to a loving home where she can learn to connect deeply with the human race。 From the very get-go， we’re faced with a strong sense of foreboding energy to balance out Klara’s refreshing sense of wonderment。 As expected， Kazuo Ishiguro serves up an overwhelming array of huge questions about the human experience， loneliness， love， emotion in general， individuality， free will， the curse of mortality， suspension of disbelief， and the ethics of advanced machine learning。 I was surprised and compelled by the AI’s consistently flawed logic and superstition that drove her actions in an effort to protect her human companion。 This to me felt like an intriguing twist， given that such technology should hypothetically be optimized to avoid this sort of behavior so characteristic of humans。 I also was quite struck by the overarching commentary on planned obsolescence。 The end sequence felt so entirely tragic and ironic to me， a really stand-out finale。 This book had me utterly glued to the page。。。 I devoured the entire thing within 10 hours。 That said， I would widely recommend picking up a copy for yourself！ 。。。more

Shannon ，

I'm a huge fan of Ishiguro， and there's no debate that he is a skilled storyteller。 So， I'm so disappointed that I did not like this novel--I seriously wanted to。 To his credit， this is a killer plot with some delicious twists！ But， the execution in its storytelling is vapid and， too frequently， unbelievable。 The narrator， Klara， is a robot。 This much is communicated right from the beginning， so Ishiguro is having fun relating the world through the eyes of artificial intelligence （e。g。 how she f I'm a huge fan of Ishiguro， and there's no debate that he is a skilled storyteller。 So， I'm so disappointed that I did not like this novel--I seriously wanted to。 To his credit， this is a killer plot with some delicious twists！ But， the execution in its storytelling is vapid and， too frequently， unbelievable。 The narrator， Klara， is a robot。 This much is communicated right from the beginning， so Ishiguro is having fun relating the world through the eyes of artificial intelligence （e。g。 how she filters movement through "boxes"--while never explicitly disclosed， it's evident this is how her eyes take in sight）。 But page-long peripheral descriptions get tiresome， and in the second half of the book， I was skipping everything that wasn't dialogue and was able to keep up 100%。 That should clearly never happen in a well-crafted， well-edited book。Klara is artificial， so my lack of connection to her sanitized personality isn't surprising。 What was surprising was my disconnect to most all the other characters。 I cared about Josie and Rick's friendship， but the parents？ Rick's mother never once came across as a believable person; all her scenes seemed farcical， her dialogue and depiction caricature-like。 Melania Housekeeper was your trope foreign hired help。 The Mother was full of contradictions， and the Father， likewise， was hard to read as a parent--or a character （his sudden "Well， heck， here's to hope！" attitude helping Klara deface a machine because of her ambiguous claim that it will somehow help save a human life？ That mental process needed more development）。 The Sun， which provides nourishment to her and acts as an all-seeing entity that can offer or withhold life， is a glaringly obvious God metaphor。 Still， Klara's servile demeanor and forced exchanges with the Sun felt awkward， cartoon-ish， even。 I could only take these scenes seriously if I were interpreting them solely figuratively; otherwise， it felt gimmicky， as if Ishiguro inserted a talking animal in those scenes。The fact that I couldn't put it down is a testament to Ishiguro's plot pacing， but after I finished the book， I felt like I didn't need 300+ pages to arrive at what registered as a pretty anticlimactic conclusion。 I know it's compared to Never Let Me Go， given the nature of the non-human narrators， but this novel is definitely of a much weaker caliber。 。。。more

Philip Cohen ，

Oh such writing。 And good ideas。 Makes you think！ Great book。

Carmen Petaccio ，

feed me 2 the cootings machinestuff me in garbage， melania housekeeper

Diane ，

I didn’t get this book。 There were some interesting themes and subplots but none of them seemed to pan out。 I could not figure out what the author was trying to say。 I was hoping for a story equal to Never Let me Go， but this never got even close。

Br。 Thanasi （Thomas） Stama ，

Fascinating novel about a future with artificial intelligence robots。 Won't give away the plot。 If you want some too close to home， scifi to read this is it。 Fascinating novel about a future with artificial intelligence robots。 Won't give away the plot。 If you want some too close to home， scifi to read this is it。 。。。more

Brianna Boehm ，

3。5， because though i loved how unique and thought-provoking this story was， the end （for me personally） just wasn’t satisfactory。Someone please read this so I can talk to someone about it， this has given me so much to think over。

Yunke Xiang ，

As I am entering my daughter‘s information into the Moderna covid 19 vaccine trial， I suddenly felt that I could connect with Jorsie’s mum now。 — we all want the best for our kids even if that can be risky。。。。

Brenden ，

I loved this beautiful read。 Like a day in the sun。 But will others want to finish this book or want to read it a second， third or fourth time？ I think you must be in a certain mindset that comes with a demographic like age to appreciated the textures in this story。 It can be boring， simplistic， condescending to the reader and a few times I questioned if I would continue。 It was not for me but very young adults maybe。 At those points Ishiguro would put in a twist。 Not huge but a hook to make you I loved this beautiful read。 Like a day in the sun。 But will others want to finish this book or want to read it a second， third or fourth time？ I think you must be in a certain mindset that comes with a demographic like age to appreciated the textures in this story。 It can be boring， simplistic， condescending to the reader and a few times I questioned if I would continue。 It was not for me but very young adults maybe。 At those points Ishiguro would put in a twist。 Not huge but a hook to make you wonder where is this going？This is a story of emotions no doubt and a showcase for the reserved Japanese social culture， but for me it was summed up as "you are only now" and that was not in the book。If you can stand the quiet of this book its a great read。 。。。more

Nehrlisa Behrmann ，

In Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro we meet our narrator， Klara， an artificial friend， created to be a companion to whomever is willing to purchase her。 Insert young Josie， she instantly is drawn to Klara。 Josie’s mother， however， is hesitant about whether or not Klara is the best AI for Josie。 Will Klara become Josie’s new artificial friend？Not long into the reading experience do readers begin to realize that this world is a bit of a dystopia， as Ishiguro begins dropping clever hints to the In Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro we meet our narrator， Klara， an artificial friend， created to be a companion to whomever is willing to purchase her。 Insert young Josie， she instantly is drawn to Klara。 Josie’s mother， however， is hesitant about whether or not Klara is the best AI for Josie。 Will Klara become Josie’s new artificial friend？Not long into the reading experience do readers begin to realize that this world is a bit of a dystopia， as Ishiguro begins dropping clever hints to the reader that there’s something more going on in this novel。 Throughout this book Ishiguro sought out to explore what it means to be human。 Do humans have something special that cannot be replicated by machines？ What are the bounds of our humanity？Ishiguro does a wonderful job at creating emotion within his stories。 I felt an array of various feelings as I read this book。Klara， being an AI forces the narrative to be written somewhat sparsely。 However， Ishiguro still managed a beautiful prose despite those limitations。My main critique is Ishiguro didn’t really do anything exceptional with this storyline。 We already have a million AI narratives written and I’m afraid this will more than likely be forgotten as just another AI story since it doesn’t do really do anything too different。I did， however love the reading experience of this book。 It is well worth picking up。 。。。more

Don ，

This book has become one of my favorites

Roxanne ，

Intriguing premise of an evolved robot whoIs assigned to a teenager whose health is failing due to her mother’s actions。 Excellent sense of foreboding throughout novel。 The remedy of the sun as a rescue seems like a young adult novel solution and not satisfying in an adult novel。

Kari ，

4。5 ⭐️I just。。。 YES THIS IS ABOUT A ROBOT AND I CRIED LIKE A BABY AT THE END。I knew this would be good because， Kazuo Ishiguro。 But， I didn't think a book about a robot could fuck me up like that。 Klara is so pure， the likes of Bilbo Baggins。 This story questions what does it mean to be human？ To be individual？ To love someone？ Are we all truly unique and special to this world？I really enjoyed that there are little nuggets of information throughout the book about this near-future world that you 4。5 ⭐️I just。。。 YES THIS IS ABOUT A ROBOT AND I CRIED LIKE A BABY AT THE END。I knew this would be good because， Kazuo Ishiguro。 But， I didn't think a book about a robot could fuck me up like that。 Klara is so pure， the likes of Bilbo Baggins。 This story questions what does it mean to be human？ To be individual？ To love someone？ Are we all truly unique and special to this world？I really enjoyed that there are little nuggets of information throughout the book about this near-future world that you don't fully understand until towards the end。 And speaking of the end。。。 my heart could not handle that。 （view spoiler）[When Josie is about to take off to school and Klara happily takes up shop in the Utility Closet， it was the first gut punch but then。。 the Yard。。 omg！ I do wonder what happened to The Manager's store， though？ （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Justin Pickett ，

“Do you believe in the human heart？”（p。 215）。What an empathy binge！ Klara， an artificial friend to a chronically-ill adolescent， provides the perfect means for surveying human emotions （rage， fear， embarrassment， weariness， pride， and “pain alongside happiness”） and the complexities of human relationships （peer pressure， impression management， passive aggressiveness， friendship， and trust/faith）。 That said， never has a book so strongly led me to expect a big， meaningful， Enlightened ending， and “Do you believe in the human heart？”（p。 215）。What an empathy binge！ Klara， an artificial friend to a chronically-ill adolescent， provides the perfect means for surveying human emotions （rage， fear， embarrassment， weariness， pride， and “pain alongside happiness”） and the complexities of human relationships （peer pressure， impression management， passive aggressiveness， friendship， and trust/faith）。 That said， never has a book so strongly led me to expect a big， meaningful， Enlightened ending， and then failed to deliver。 Be forewarned， your investment in the characters and story is all for naught。 1） Story （3/5） 2） Writing （4/5）3） Originality （5/5）4） Characters （5/5）5） Set pieces （3/5）6） Suspense （3/5）7） Ending （1/5）8） Relationships （romantic or otherwise） （5/5）9） Dialogue （4/5） 。。。more

Jonathan Hernandez ，

Ugh the cruelty of changing and forgetting。 7/7“There was something very special， but it wasn't inside Josie。 It was inside those who loved her。”“Then the Coffee Cup Lady reached the RPO Building side， and she and the man were holding each other so tightly they were like one large person， and the Sun， noticing， was pouring his nourishment on them。” Ugh the cruelty of changing and forgetting。 7/7“There was something very special， but it wasn't inside Josie。 It was inside those who loved her。”“Then the Coffee Cup Lady reached the RPO Building side， and she and the man were holding each other so tightly they were like one large person， and the Sun， noticing， was pouring his nourishment on them。” 。。。more

Valeria Cardoso ，

Hermoso！

Eve ，

You have never read anything like it。 I remain amazed。 Klara is kindnesses and selflessness itself。 As the world and her circumstances change she is constant and clear。 You will aspire to be her and pray to know her。

Jola Cora ，

This deeply affected me。 As it was ending I started to cry and am still crying now as I write this。 I love Klara so much。

Rachel （readinginsc） ，

Klara is an artificial friend， but she’s the kind of friend we’d all like to have - devoted， willing to give without receiving。 It’s a kind of humanity beyond what a human being is actually capable of and it’s what makes her both lovely and sad。 Some beautiful prose here。Sister story to NEVER LET ME GO （which is， still， somehow better than this even though I loved it）。

Rebecca ，

For me， reading Ishiguro is very similar to a night of heavy drinking。 I start off having so much fun， really enjoying myself。 Then comes the turning point。 The point at which I realize this is going to end badly。 There's lots of crying and promising myself that I'll never drink again。 But we all know that after some time has passed， I'll do it all again。 If you liked Never Let Me Go， and you're looking for another good cry， then definitely read Klara and the Sun。 For me， reading Ishiguro is very similar to a night of heavy drinking。 I start off having so much fun， really enjoying myself。 Then comes the turning point。 The point at which I realize this is going to end badly。 There's lots of crying and promising myself that I'll never drink again。 But we all know that after some time has passed， I'll do it all again。 If you liked Never Let Me Go， and you're looking for another good cry， then definitely read Klara and the Sun。 。。。more

Christin Barnes ，

I really enjoyed this book。 I read Never Let Me Go last year and it was so weird and so good， and it made me really hyped for this book to come out。 I am so glad that the story for this book is also weird and good as well。， because I wasn't sure if a new story woukd live up to my expectations after having read NLMG。 Every time I read an Ishiguro story I have so many questions， and not all of them always get answered by the time I reach the end of the book but just enough details are filled on th I really enjoyed this book。 I read Never Let Me Go last year and it was so weird and so good， and it made me really hyped for this book to come out。 I am so glad that the story for this book is also weird and good as well。， because I wasn't sure if a new story woukd live up to my expectations after having read NLMG。 Every time I read an Ishiguro story I have so many questions， and not all of them always get answered by the time I reach the end of the book but just enough details are filled on throughout the story that it keeps you wanting to read on for more。 。。。more

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