Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Klara and the Sun

Love everything Kazuo Ishiguro does so I thought I would love this and I did! Such interesting ideas about artificial intelligence and its capabilities - genuinely doesn't seem too far off. The entire concept reminded me of Blade Runner a la 'replicants'. There were some really bone-chilling moments in this, particularly when Klara's human companion Josie was getting her 'portrait' done. It's so scary because it seems like something that could actually happen in the near future. There were some plot points that I really didn't like which I think brought my rating down to a 4 and not a 4.5 or 5 but I honestly cannot be bothered to go into them now. I thought it was quite a simple yet eloquent and thought-provoking story. The Remains of the Day is still my favourite Ishiguro at this point.

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fiainkvinna's review

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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whatellisreadnext's review

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emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.0

'𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺.'

Klara, an Artificial Friend, waits patiently from her place in the store. She uses her time there to observe the humans who pass by, but also the customers who come inside to browse. All the while remaining hopeful, that one day somebody will pick her.

It's more of a surprise to me than anyone, that I didn't enjoy this one all that much. Kazuo Ishiguro wrote my favourite book if all time, Never Let Me Go, and after seeing the reviews comparing the two, I had high hopes. I wanted so much to love this one, that initially when I finished I gave it 4 stars. After mulling over it for a week or two, thinking about my reasonings, I deducted a star.

I couldn't give this book another star, just because the writing was excellent. Or because the author wrote my favourite book. Or because it's the book I was reading when Liam proposed. Don't get me wrong, I loved the first half of this one, the speculative elements, the questions created at every turn in the narrative. But the second half just left much to be desired.

If you've read Never Let Me Go, you'll understand the naive and tragic nature of the narrative that just makes your heart ache for the characters. Klara and the Sun just felt like a character study on artificial intelligence. Klara never felt human to me. Yes, she had that naivety that I loved so much in Never Let Me Go, but not enough happens for us to question whether or not she is embodies humanity.

I felt the book leading upto this big moment where everything just clicked into place. I wanted to cry, I wanted desperately to feel for Klara, but all I was left with was a well written book, where nothing much happens, and I never felt for any of the characters. I get why people are loving this so much, especially if it's your first Ishiguro, it is somewhat unique and the writing is fantastic, it just lacked the substance and heartache that I loved so much in Never Let Me Go.

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