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A review by elerireads
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I struggled with this one, and some of my issues with it were definitely 'me problems', but some of them weren't.
First the things I liked about it though. I enjoyed the first 100 pages a lot and I whizzed through them. It was engaging world-building, and I found Klara an intriguing perspective - her childish naivety coupled with curiosity and uncanny philosophical depth of perception gives us a wonderful way to discover this world that's so similar to our own but for a few fundamental differences. I found her tendency to ascribe motives and meaning really interesting for a robot. It was almost too human? I read an interview (https://www.wired.com/story/kazuo-ishiguro-interview/) with Ishiguro where he talks about AI "overfitting" (but not really in this context) and when you think about it like that it seems obvious that AI should develop a whole bunch of bizarre superstitions, such as Klara's worshiping the sun. The other thing I enjoyed was the suggestion that Klara may be able to "learn" Josie and then become her after she died. Less for the issues raised in the book itself than for the things that it made me think about afterwards.
Now for the 'me problems': I'm just not really interested in the whole AI-takes-over-and-it-wreaks-havoc-on-society genre. In fact I'm not really a dystopia fan full stop but this in particular just kind of switches me off. Not that it's not an interesting idea worth exploring, it just doesn't excite me personally at all. The other problem is that I didn't really get this book. After the initial world-building I didn't feel pulled in and there didn't seem to be much structure to it. I think a big point of it was slowly figuring out the final key elements of the set-up from a slow drip of small details rather than having it explained directly, but I think I failed utterly to pick up on some of those crucial details. I got to the end and had to google what being "lifted" was actually supposed to mean because I was still none the wiser - apparently it means the kids were genetically engineered to be more intelligent? Apparently most people who read it seem to have figured that out but I'm completely baffled as to how we were possibly supposed to infer that and from what?
One of my major issues that I don't think is a 'me problem' is linked to that - Klara's ignorance is completely unrealistic. For starters, it doesn't really make sense that she starts off being completely ignorant about the world. Surely, surely, she would be preprogrammed with some basic knowledge about how the world works and the state of humanity at the time. But I do understand it makes for a brilliant perspective to write from if the character is having to learn about the world along with the reader. However, Klara's continued ignorance is completely at odds with her curiosity so it makes absolutely no sense other than as a way to keep the reader in the dark for longer. Secondly, why did none of the other characters have questions when Klara was roping them into her bizarre superstitious schemes? I understand the mentality of "oh well we might as well try it if there's a chance it could help Josie", and even "these robots are super intelligent and might know things we don't about how to help Josie", but surely you would still ask how and why? They all just immediately go along with it.
Overall I was left pretty unsatisfied because it felt like an enormous amount of care and effort had been put into setting up this fascinating world, only to refuse to tell us about it properly. And there wasn't all that much in the plot itself to hold my interest.
First the things I liked about it though. I enjoyed the first 100 pages a lot and I whizzed through them. It was engaging world-building, and I found Klara an intriguing perspective - her childish naivety coupled with curiosity and uncanny philosophical depth of perception gives us a wonderful way to discover this world that's so similar to our own but for a few fundamental differences. I found her tendency to ascribe motives and meaning really interesting for a robot. It was almost too human? I read an interview (https://www.wired.com/story/kazuo-ishiguro-interview/) with Ishiguro where he talks about AI "overfitting" (but not really in this context) and when you think about it like that it seems obvious that AI should develop a whole bunch of bizarre superstitions, such as Klara's worshiping the sun. The other thing I enjoyed was the suggestion that Klara may be able to "learn" Josie and then become her after she died. Less for the issues raised in the book itself than for the things that it made me think about afterwards.
Now for the 'me problems': I'm just not really interested in the whole AI-takes-over-and-it-wreaks-havoc-on-society genre. In fact I'm not really a dystopia fan full stop but this in particular just kind of switches me off. Not that it's not an interesting idea worth exploring, it just doesn't excite me personally at all. The other problem is that I didn't really get this book. After the initial world-building I didn't feel pulled in and there didn't seem to be much structure to it. I think a big point of it was slowly figuring out the final key elements of the set-up from a slow drip of small details rather than having it explained directly, but I think I failed utterly to pick up on some of those crucial details. I got to the end and had to google what being "lifted" was actually supposed to mean because I was still none the wiser - apparently it means the kids were genetically engineered to be more intelligent? Apparently most people who read it seem to have figured that out but I'm completely baffled as to how we were possibly supposed to infer that and from what?
One of my major issues that I don't think is a 'me problem' is linked to that - Klara's ignorance is completely unrealistic. For starters, it doesn't really make sense that she starts off being completely ignorant about the world. Surely, surely, she would be preprogrammed with some basic knowledge about how the world works and the state of humanity at the time. But I do understand it makes for a brilliant perspective to write from if the character is having to learn about the world along with the reader. However, Klara's continued ignorance is completely at odds with her curiosity so it makes absolutely no sense other than as a way to keep the reader in the dark for longer. Secondly, why did none of the other characters have questions when Klara was roping them into her bizarre superstitious schemes? I understand the mentality of "oh well we might as well try it if there's a chance it could help Josie", and even "these robots are super intelligent and might know things we don't about how to help Josie", but surely you would still ask how and why? They all just immediately go along with it.
Overall I was left pretty unsatisfied because it felt like an enormous amount of care and effort had been put into setting up this fascinating world, only to refuse to tell us about it properly. And there wasn't all that much in the plot itself to hold my interest.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness and Grief