Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

223 reviews

evelynepisodes's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective 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? No

3.75

I loved the premise of this book initially, but like other Japanese books I’ve read it just went on without really adding anything interesting. The middle was exciting but the late start and end were quite disappointing. Like why do we need to know about the intricacies of their life when it hasn’t added anything? Personally I think this had such an interesting idea I just think the ending should’ve been tackled better and the pacing needs to be fixed. I almost wanted to give up on it around page 250 - but preserve if you can.
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redvelveting's review

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hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

This book is written so beautifully. While the plot may not be the most thrilling at times, I loved Klara’s characterization. I thought the author did a wonderful job portraying how someone like her would see the world. Typically, the vagueness would annoy me but somehow it worked really well in this book; it didn’t need all the nitty gritty details to make the characters compelling. The language and style were just so dainty and pretty. 

Additionally, the human characters just felt so real. They all had their highs and lows and were full of so many different emotions and behaviours; there were even some that were more destructive or problematic and even illogical but still realistic and understandable. The author gave the characters a lot of dimension in this way. 

I also loved the idea of
a solar-powered artificial intelligence basically worshipping the sun. Not only did it make a great allegory for religious devotion and faith, but it just made sense.


Honestly when I was approaching the end I was originally going to rate this lower but the ending really sold me.
Klara is content in the life she was able to live but it made me so sad to see her just thrown away like that after everything she did; a hard truth in real life I suppose.
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sburchart's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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333amreen's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-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

3.5

The first half was really hard to get through because it felt like the whole purpose of the book was basically just Klara observing here surroundings & so I often thought of DNF-ing the book, but I'm so glad I continued reading. Little did I know how meaningful those observations would prove to be & so the latter half really got me thinking. I think this book conveys a beautiful and thought provoking insight into the human heart, I don't mean simply the organ obviously. I'm speaking in the poetic sense. The human heart. I do infact think there is such a thing, something that makes each of us special and individual.
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theraindiary's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-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? N/A

4.5

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maiaiaia's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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fanni_b22's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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river_jean_sterling's review against another edition

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

3.75

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chellyfishing's review against another edition

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

5.0

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.0

I read The Remains of the Day ages ago and struggled to stay engaged. So I was expecting something just as sludgy, but you’d one was endearing and so distant. I loved it.
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