Klara and the Sun

A Novel

By: Kazuo Ishiguro

Narrated by: Sura Siu

Long-listed, Booker Prize, 2021

Short-listed, Prometheus Award, 2022

New York Times best seller

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

“What stays with you in Klara and the Sun is the haunting narrative voice - a genuinely innocent, egoless perspective on the strange behavior of humans obsessed and wounded by power, status and fear.” (Booker Prize committee)

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?

©2021 Kazuo Ishiguro (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • A BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE • GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick • ONE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR • ONE OF BILL GATES'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Time, NPR, Washington Post, Vogue, USA Today, Town & Country, The Guardian, Vulture, and more

“One of the most affecting and profound novels Ishiguro has written….I'll go for broke and call Klara and the Sun a masterpiece that will make you think about life, mortality, the saving grace of love: in short, the all of it.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR

“A delicate, haunting story, steeped in sorrow and hope.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

“What stays with you in ‘Klara and the Sun’ is the haunting narrative voice—a genuinely innocent, egoless perspective on the strange behavior of humans obsessed and wounded by power, status and fear.”—Booker Prize committee

Short story masquerading as a novel?

I would imagine that several years after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, Mr. Ishiguro must have felt considerable pressure to pen another book. Unfortunately, from my perspective, Klara and the Sun -- while offering an interesting premise -- would have made for a better short story than such a long and ponderous novel, After all, one and a half hours in, Klara the "AF" or Artificial Friend hadn't even left the store in which Manager had moved her to and from the front window to various others parts of the place. I couldn't quite get why it was taking so long for the relationship with her "owner", Josie, to begin.

Yes, I got that being "lifted" implied some kind of genetic modification which was likely the cause of Josie's unspecified illness. I surmised what might even have been a subtle (intended or otherwise) message that Rick, who hadn't been afforded this "advantage" by his mother, was much more gifted than his friend Josie who showed no special prowess, whereas he appeared to be a boy entrepreneur who would go onto great things.

As I said, an interesting premise, not least when it came to the central theme of what it is that causes us to love. Are we just the sum of our parts, or is there something ineffable within us that causes (in Josie's case) someone to love their mother despite their having put their lives at risk, or at least at risk of permanent exhaustion and illness? Why would Chrissy undertake that again with her second child when she had lost her first to the same illness? Also, I just wasn't convinced by Klara, supposedly an exceptional robot with observational abiities who had such a primitive understanding of the sun - treating "him" in an anthropomorphic way by pleading with him to make Josie better. The way in which Josie's illness was resolved left me confused and unconvinced. Certain other things were never fully explained. I surmised that the teenagers needed to have "interactions" where they met face to face because they were educated remotely. But why were schools no longer in existence, even though - as we discover later in the story -- colleges are?

But, overall, the reason why I have given this book only three stars (and four for Ms. Siu's excellent narration) is because I felt no emotion at the end. Usually I'll shed a tear for a favoured character or cheer for a much anticipated resolution, but in this case -- nothing. As such, I suppose I am no different to the characters in the book. Josie goes off to college without a second-thought for her long-time AF; the mother seems to feel no great connection to a being that would have sacrificed anything for her human friend. Mr. Capaldi's interest in Klara is only to tinker inside her "black box" to learn the secrets of these supposedly exceptional robots. So Klara is left to wind down with no one to speak to other than the occasional building worker and "Manager" who has set out to find her former AFs. What should have been a poignant ending just left me thinking, oh well, I at least finished the book, even though at times I felt disinclined to persevere, especially when it came to the superfluous character of Miss Helen and her strange relationship with Vance.

A friend has loaned me another book of Mr. Ishiguro's, assuring me it's one of his best. With all due respect, I would conclude that Klara and the Sun does not fit into that category.

Beautiful, charming, and endearing little mystery

Beautiful successor to both Never Let Me Go and Remains of the Day. Ishiguro is a master of navigating our usefulness and loneliness, and this nimble reader brings unique perspective to the characters - particularly Klara, Josie, & Rick.

I keep thinking about this one...

I really enjoyed this story, my mind keeps returning to think some more about what is unsaid. Excellent narration. Will definitely purchase a paper copy to read in the future

Ishiguro at his best!

Is Kazuo Ishiguro the greatest living writer of fiction? I say: “yes.” Klara and the Sun shows off Ishiguro’s unique ability to create new worlds and environments that are somehow familiar. His prose is beautiful—whatever genre or theme Ishiguro employs.

What is perhaps most striking for me is that in each of his works their is moral center. In the hands of a less skilled author this could be ham-fisted and pedantic. Not so with Ishiguro. If you are willing, you will get a chance to think about the great moral issues: what is true, what is good/evil, right/wrong. I re

An inventive masterpiece

Klara and the Sun has one of the most fascinating narrators of any novel I’ve ever read. This book is beautifully written and impossible to put down. I would not be surprised if it will be considered a literary classic one day. 100% worth reading!

Trite, slow and downright underwhelming

I’ll admit to never fully understanding the cult of Ishiguro but still purchased this after reading some positive reviews. Needless to say, I still don’t understand the acclaim. The writing is very cut and dry, which is understandable given that it’s a first-person narrative from the perspective of an AI. I supposed, incorrectly in this case, that the writing would become more poetic and nuanced as the AI retained more human characteristics, but that was not the case. Perhaps that was intentional, however, as it might have been the author’s intent to make it seem as if there simply wasn’t much to retain and that humanity, at its essence, is simple to the mind of an android.

So what it boiled down to was a fairly straightforward story of a near-distant world in which artificial intelligence is capable of independent thought and even the concept of spirituality (in this case, the Sun is god). These are certainly interesting concepts to explore, but there just wasn’t enough plot-wise to keep the reader engaged. We feel bad for Klara, but not to any significant degree to where we’re truly invested in her journey. There are moments of beauty, but not enough to keep the story interesting.

Sara Siu was an excellent narrator, however, and so I’m rating this a little higher than I wanted to. I can’t imagine having been able to finish an actual physical copy of this book, so if this had any silver lining, it was that Siu’s performance was just enough to make me want to see it through. Overall though, I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.

Very well-written.

The first book I read by this author. A very thoughtful writer. Not at all flashy. A book that has depth.

mesmerizing story, from beginning to end

this is the kind of book that makes you wish they added a few extra chapters, but it was still really fantastically written. the ending for the AF is very bitter sweet in my opinion, but Lent towards a very interesting story.

Enjoyable listen

I enjoyed listening to this story set sometime in the future. It’s an interesting thought experiment and I wonder how far we’ll be able to develop AI. Some might say that we’ve already gone too far?! The story is beautiful, albeit a bit sad.

interioriy

This story is from an unusual perspective, and it probes the interiority of consciousness, an intreaging premise.