Reviews with content warning for Grief - Klara and the Sun

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this one. The concept was quite unique and Klara was such an interesting character to be in the perspective of. I loved seeing her throughout her life with Josie and her family. I read this as an audiobook and I thought her tone translated very well into that format and it made the story feel as though Klara was looking back and recounting her life back to me. I was very worried about this being a translated book, I thought the language would be overly simplistic and maybe wouldn’t be done very well. But I was definitely surprised, this book wasn’t difficult to read and understand at all and I never felt that the fact that it was originally written in Japanese impacted my enjoyment in any way other than positively.

This book was very casual. Nothing spectacular happens, there’s no epic quest or particularly growth from the main character. We just see the world around her grow up and change while she stays the same. This made for a good read to just read in small chunks. The ending was sad but hopeful and I overall enjoyed my entire experience reading this. Would definitely recommend, 4.5 stars.

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elinthenilsson's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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eitha's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this is a book about hope and grief and how we sometimes are the most selfish for the ones we love.

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jennikreads's review against another edition

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dark hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

KLARA AND THE SUN follows an artificial friend with an incredible skill for observation. We follow Klara as she moves through different phases while she cares for her human companion and tries to make sense of what is happening around her.

This is the third book by Isiguro that I have read. And I continue to be disturbed, amazed, and intrigued by the scenarios he gives life to in his books. As my friend once put it, there is always that moment in an Isiguro book when you’re like “Aha, here we go”. And this one was no different. When that point game, I genuinely said “WHAT.THE.HELL?!” out loud in front of my toddler.

There’s always a story being told under the story and eventually it comes out, though never so fully that you feel like someone is hitting you over the head with a moral or an ideology. It’s always just subtle enough that you feel uncomfortable and can’t stop thinking about it.

I thought Klara was charming and I loved seeing the world through her eyes. So many little things we take for granted that Klara calls attention to in a unique way. And the way relationships and emotions are talked about in this book, was just chef’s kiss!

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em_haydon's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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theleppy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I didn't expect to come out of this book crying. It was so lovely seeing the world through the eyes of an optimistic and hopeful robot (which is such an unfair thing to call her. The book's term AF or Artificial Friend is so much more apt). I came to love Klara and the other characters flaws and all. This book is filled with such hope and sadness but it's beautiful. The way Klara sees the world is strange but beautiful. It's not a book for everyone and I say I tagged it as challenging because it doesn't hand you answers, you have to piece things together on your own and even then it's hard to grasp. It's a puzzle that is missing pieces even at the end but at the center it's beautiful.

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juliettea's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious reflective medium-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? Yes

3.0

I will read more Ishiguro in the future maybe never let me go next but I’m not super excited as this being my first novel from him. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop but till the end I was just barely holding on.
I was not very emotionally vested into the characters. His exploration into the views of artificial intelligence, while compelling, falls pretty flat even with an analysis on love.

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