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arlaubscher's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Slavery, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Grief and Dementia
Minor: Gaslighting, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Self harm, and Emotional abuse
sandwiiche's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this was very interesting! i loved reading the pov of an artificial friend (essentially, a robot/AI?) the ending was a little iffy, but overall i really enjoyed this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Grief, and Terminal illness
julieyael's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I had sile difficulties with this book. I found it hard to understand everything that was going on in the world building, probably because we only have the point of view of the android/AA.
Lots of things are subject to interpretation and I found the style a bit complicated.
Also it’s a bit of a dystopian world, which I am not a fan of, and the global tone was pretty sad in my opinion.
The themes are interesting and there is some reflection to have, but I was not convinced by the point of the whole story.
I found the plot pretty weak too.
Not a bad book, but I would’t read it again nor recommend it.
Lots of things are subject to interpretation and I found the style a bit complicated.
Also it’s a bit of a dystopian world, which I am not a fan of, and the global tone was pretty sad in my opinion.
The themes are interesting and there is some reflection to have, but I was not convinced by the point of the whole story.
I found the plot pretty weak too.
Not a bad book, but I would’t read it again nor recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, and Classism
Minor: Mental illness
amsswim's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This one was very sweet. You read from the perspective of an "Artifical Friend", a robot that accompanies children. I really loved how Klara interacted and saw the world. As well as how her perspective lacked context entirely sometimes, but had too much in other points. I would love to know more about the larger world the story takes place in, but it didn't matter to Klara so it was not in the story. It felt like a sweet, nice episode of Black Mirror (those are rare though). I'd recommend for science fiction people and those who like light science fiction.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, and Death
Minor: Cursing and Terminal illness
martasshelf's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was my first Kazuo Ishiguro book and I knew nothing about him or his writing. I picked this one because the resume on the back sounded interesting.
I think I liked it overall but found it boring and weird for the first two thirds of the book.
Almost at the end of the book I looked up some reviews and realized this was just the author's style. Some descriptions given by our narrator - Klara - had felt weird for me and I even wondered if my english, not being my first language, was failing me... No, I was just reading a robot's kind of mind.
If one enjoys slow paced books this will be a great choice. And the themes are pretty universal.
I think I liked it overall but found it boring and weird for the first two thirds of the book.
Almost at the end of the book I looked up some reviews and realized this was just the author's style. Some descriptions given by our narrator - Klara - had felt weird for me and I even wondered if my english, not being my first language, was failing me... No, I was just reading a robot's kind of mind.
If one enjoys slow paced books this will be a great choice. And the themes are pretty universal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Grief and Child death
ank3's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Ableism
_mininbooks_'s review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Grief
kaitoro_walker13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Clever, sad and beautifully simple, Klara and the Sun was a book I enjoyed thoroughly. Although the plot starts to drag a little at the end, it still manages to feel interesting and calm throughout. This book is wonderfully written, and I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Grief
prettiestwhistles's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Ableism, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Abandonment, Classism, and Terminal illness
Minor: Pedophilia
heather_harrison's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Pros
* Nailed the linguistics of a robot
* Complex relationships with family
* Exploration of idea of being replaced by machines (this happens to Klara herself)
* Ambiguous ending - was Josie healed by the sun from Klara’s sacrifice or did she die only to be seamlessly replaced by the portrait?
Frustrations
* Slow plot
* POV gives extremely limited view of the world, leaves plenty of unanswered questions about the world and Josie
* introduced Sal but no explanation of her death
* Klara is painfully optimistic, unable to empathise with her
Like a duller, lonelier, non-homicidal version of M3GAN.
* Nailed the linguistics of a robot
* Complex relationships with family
* Exploration of idea of being replaced by machines (this happens to Klara herself)
* Ambiguous ending - was Josie healed by the sun from Klara’s sacrifice or did she die only to be seamlessly replaced by the portrait?
Frustrations
* Slow plot
* POV gives extremely limited view of the world, leaves plenty of unanswered questions about the world and Josie
* introduced Sal but no explanation of her death
* Klara is painfully optimistic, unable to empathise with her
Like a duller, lonelier, non-homicidal version of M3GAN.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child death, Grief, and Abandonment