Reviews with content warning for Classism - Klara y el Sol

Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Klara y el Sol by Kazuo Ishiguro

49 reviews

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.

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ninahuynh's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? N/A

5.0

Artificial Friend, or AF, are the thing of this world. The concept of having an artificial entity aid humans has been a point of discussion in various books and films. In this case, Klara, an AF, was purchased to be Josie's companion and ultimately <Spoiler> aid her mother in the grief process that is to come when Josie eventually passes from her illness. While the summary says that the book explores the question of "what does it mean to love?", I think the crux of the story lies more upon how far would one go for love. While an AF, Klara of course has a more mechanical demeanor to things than her human counterpart; however, that does not mean that she is any less human in the way she keeps her loyalty to Josie. From the moment they promised each other in the store to the moment

Josie leaves for college,

Klara expression of 'love' to her human friend is comparable to that of the humans in Josie's life.

I would also say that this book opens up discussion for artificial intelligent/artificial friends' self.

If Josie had not pulled through and did die from the illness

, how would her mother's demeanor towards Klara change? Would Klara still be able to be Klara after 'becoming' Josie for the mother? Would it be a simple reboot or is there something more complex that would need to take place?

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eveningreverie's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I cannot read the two barn scenes (you know the ones) without sobbing. I'm serious. I've tried. Klara is so beautiful and pure. Her beliefs are palpable. The method of describing stressful situations through Klara's "boxes" (program focus windows) was so abstract yet to profoundly relatable to humanity. Only Ishiguro can make me simultaneously sickened with and in perpetual awe of the thematic content.

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sherpa2015's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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emjbarnes's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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something_magnetism's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious 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? No

3.5

slow book for the first ~160 pages of the book and told from the perspective of an AF (which I learned from the back cover of the book is ‘Artificial Friend’) who is learning their environment(s). A cute, mysterious story with ‘darker’ themes lightly weaved in. I personally found the books descriptions of things (characters, objects, the environment, etc) vague at times, which was a bit frustrating but certainly makes for an interesting conversation with others who have read the book!

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