Reviews

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

jad_bal_ja's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

So heartfelt, so sad and also hopeful. A beautiful tale.

thisiscam's review against another edition

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

3.5

andotherworlds's review

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3.0

3 // cute beginning/middle, underwhelming end

elssherlock's review

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

4.0

Enjoyed the book as a whole. Story keeps you asking questions, and the concept is intriguing. It was good, just didn't feel groundbreaking. 

booksnotgluten's review

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hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The ending had me crying over a robot, just like my last breakup

mollyhyland's review

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

willjacks's review against another edition

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2.0

Bland and completely dull when it comes to plotline and prose. I liked the themes and some character interactions, but the whole story felt boooooring.

A parody paragraph that sounds like it was taken straight out of this book:

“I look up towards the row of boxes on the top shelf. They’re stacked neatly, leaving small gaps which the dust can settle on. The grey hue of the boxes leave me feeling a peculiar joy, making me think of the sun and how it healed that old homeless man.”

It’s prose like this that people honestly consider as genius for some reason. It’s vapid if you ask me, especially when it becomes repetitive.

joshstandrew's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious fast-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

3.5

Made me feel for a robot which is crazy

anniemarie321's review

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mysterious reflective

4.0

thechanelmuse's review against another edition

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2.0

I went into Klara and the Sun blindly, hoping to be blown away by Ishiguro’s writing style and storytelling, since this is the first book he’s written since winning the Nobel Prize and the first book I’m reading from the author. I was left me bored and underwhelmed.

Part One was cool and whimsical-like to see things from the vantage point of an android that’s in a store awaiting to be purchased by a passerby as a child’s artificial friend. I wish that was a short story. It’s compelling enough and leaves you wanting more.

Ishiguro mentioned in an interview that his original idea for Klara and the Sun was for it to be a children’s story, but changed his mind upon the suggestion of his daughter. I wish he stuck with his original idea. Part One has a child-like innocence to it and it would’ve been interesting to see how the story would unfold from that perspective.

What we’re left with after that compelling section is lackluster because everything feels underdeveloped from the world-building to the characters. (The adults feel like they are written as teens in some parts.) Some things in the book caught my attention in wanting to know more but it remained cryptic or didn’t live up to its hype. It was a pain to slog through this book just to see what the end would reveal.