The Sun always has ways to reach us.
Klara and The Sun
by Kazuo Ishiguro
Genre: Sci-Fi
About: Klara waits for her turn in the sun. As an Artificial Friend, she must wait to be chosen and so watches patiently the world outside The Shop and the many interesting people that pass her window. Until one day a girl makes a deal with her. Being a sickly child, she can't promise Klara excitement but she promises to take Klara somewhere she can watch The Sun lay down and rest. She promises a home.
The Good
Klara is far more innocent and yet far more astute than the reader. She gives an endearing narrative that pulls you instantly inside her world. It's a fascinating world, absolutely dystopian in nature, and Klara's thoughtful observations makes you want to know more. Ishiguro builds brilliant suspense by keeping the reader in the dark on many key parts of the story. While Klara is aware of some of these pieces, others her naivety clouds. The way we're thrown into the world and Klara's insights into human nature makes this a book that's very hard to put down.
I also loved the relationship, or religion really, of the Sun as a god-figure for Klara. I thought this was really clever and brought out Klara's personality in a way that her other relationships and observations only hint at.
The Bad
As mentioned, the world is incredibly intriguing but Klara is a limited protagonist and we don't get to explore half as much as I would want. The politics, what's meant by Society, and the civil unrest around Artificial Intelligence are clearly very important components to the plot and yet they are far from Klara's focus. Even her friendship with Rosa is a fleeting part of her life that we don't really get closure on. She's brought up a few times but Klara doesn't pursue what happened to her friend and we're left to guess with the vague hints.
And while I found the Helen/Vance/Rick storyline interesting, it took up a large portion of the end that I felt should have been focused on the main drama. The attention shift to these side characters during such an instrumental moment for Josie's family was strange.
The Somewhat Iffy
Is it terrible that I would have rather Josie died? The novel really does seem to suggest the sun healed her when I would have been more interested to see Klara's faith destroyed and her enter the creepy new role the family had in store for her.
I did love the messaging on what makes a person loved and believe absolutely that the mother would never have accepted Klara as Josie, despite the mother wanting to believe it possible. Yet while I agree Klara is right that she can't make people love her the same just by impersonating Josie, I really struggle to believe she could achieve a full impersonation in the first place. We only see her attempt this role once at the Falls and how she spoke wasn't impressively similar. Klara's personality is so clear to the reader that it's bizarre she thinks she could live as Josie truly and completely. I would also like to know how that physically would have been handled - would Josie's new body have been able to age, and what lifespan would Klara have had?
Overall
A beautiful read with a character you fall in love with so instantly. Kazuo Ishiguro builds a very interesting world with a thoughtful message about what makes us who we are.
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