Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go is “an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures ... a poignant meditation on love and loneliness” (The Associated Press). • A GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick!

Here is 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?

For two hundred pages I questioned why I was reading Klara and the Sun which for the most part, is a introspective and quiet story of an AF (artificial friend, think of M3gan without the horror malfunctioning) observing and learning from human activity around in her adopted household. An artificial friend resembling a doll of sorts, Klara spends an awful lot of time thinking about the sun (yes there’s reasons for that) and watching over a young but weak girl named Josie and her childhood life. However, there are signs and a slow foreboding sense that nothing’s is quite right but it takes a close look to notice it under Klara’s well-meaning yet unreliable narration.

(On an unrelated note this book was an absolute pain to get and read for me locally, I had to wait 6 months on a library hardcopy waitlist and the ebook copy I had a hold for still currently has a 20+ week wait).

To say anymore would potentially give away the surprises and dark developments left in the last 100 pages, but needless to say things go dystopian really really fast. I’m accustomed to the more stereotypical takes on the dystopian genres such as oppressively political regimes (ie. The Giver, Hunger Games Series, 1984) or the scifi-infused variety (ie. Snowpiercer, Elysium, Severence), but this is the first time I read or watched this unique flavor or futuristic dystopia. Ishiguro is known for this type of sci-fi work, but Klara and the Sun’s dystopia is devoid of violence, politics (in a bureaucratic manner), mass death/kills, etc. Instead it focuses on a not so distant future where AI/AF develop the skills to emulate and ultimately replace humanity, where children are genetically modified to enhance their intelligence with potentially lethal drawbacks, and people lose touch of their reality. It’s dark topics but not in the traditional sense at all.

While I was on the fence for most of the book, the last 100 pages really reminded me a lot of Flowers for Algernon in that both novels feature a hopeful yet naïve protagonist who don’t quite see the world and people around them for what it is. The prose is simplistic and childlike but that’s 100% by design. Ishiguro nails both the wonder children experience when seeing new things as well how impressionable they can be. Needless to say every adult human and parent in this novel is heavily flawed, morally questionable and you will either be caught in disbelief or horror at the things they say or worse, what they believe similar to Charlie in Flowers for Algernon slowly discovering that nobody in his life was who he thought they were (the difference is you the reader sees the horror of the situation while Klara’s AI/AF understanding doesn’t).

I have the feeling most readers will gloss over it but apart from the obvious topics of AI, I found there to be some interesting unrelated commentary and metaphors. Early in the story Klara witnesses what could be considered a miracle, elevating the sun from a mere energy source (think of it like a solar battery for her) to something akin to a religion that gives her hope and faith. There are also trace elements of fascism and social inequality based on the “lifted” nature of children vs natural non-lifted and even bits of grassroot, alternative lifestyle/aspirational life goals. View Spoiler »Klara’s eventual slow “fade” is also presented in a way that to me resembles dementia with the visual description memories and context blurring together and the physical loss of motion. This may carry more mileage for me as one of my grandparents’ dementia is accelerating. « Hide Spoiler These are less developed than themes already presented, but their inclusion elevates it’s narrative and commentary for me well beyond the typical “resist the brainwashing and rise up in arms!” tropes of the genre. Anyone who says Klara and the Sun is simple or half-baked wasn’t paying attention or cant read between the lines. There are also some truly great quotes:

View Spoiler » Mr Capaldi believed there was nothing special inside Josie that couldn’t be continued. He told the Mother he’d searched and searched and found nothing like that. But I believe now he was searching in the wrong place. There was something very special, but it wasn’t inside Josie. It was inside those who loved her.
-Klara « Hide Spoiler

To say the least Klara and the Sun can be polarizing; my own experience and journey reading Klara was polarizing itself. While it certainly wasn’t the most enjoyable read in the moment with its slow deliberate build-up into it’s grimly dark (and very current/relevant) concepts questioning humanity, artificial intelligence, and technology, it’s certainly a novel I am thankful to have read and experienced. And again while trying to avoid spoilers, the final part also heavily captures the same emotional ending and impact Flowers for Algernon did for me years ago with Klara’s journey reaching its sunset (sorry the sun pun was too tempting).