'Klara and the Sun' by Kazuo Ishiguro

Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (4.0)

I find it interesting that the same author of ‘Remains of the Day’ wrote this book about an AF, a robotic artificial friend for young people. Though if you have read any of Ishiguro-san’s books, you realize he writes more about the characters and their motivations than the plot. I liked that this novel is told from the perspective of Klara, the AI. Looking through her innocence adds another filter to the reader’s understanding of this new world, which makes it more puzzling and interesting. We are introduced to Klara’s life in the store, as she and the other AFs wait to be chosen by some lucky child. From the start, we realize that Klara is ‘special’ in that she appears to observe more around her than her peers. As she shares her insights throughout the story, sometimes they will be surprising to the reader. I liked that we are at our own disadvantage since we don’t know exactly what has changed in this version of our future. Once she is chosen and goes home with a family, we slowly get more information through her observations. I won’t reveal these as I believe much of the joy of reading this book is that journey with Klara.