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Klara and the Sun

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Klara and the Sun

By: Kazuo Ishiguro
Narrated by: Sura Siu
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About this listen

From the bestselling and Booker Prize winning author of Never Let me Go and The Remains of the Day, a stunning new novel - his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature - that asks, what does it mean to love? A thrilling feat of world-building, a novel of exquisite tenderness and impeccable restraint, Klara and the Sun is a magnificent achievement, and an international literary event.

©2021 Kazuo Ishiguro (P)2021 Faber Audio Coming of Age Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Thought-Provoking Heartfelt
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This book starts and end with something close to the style and thoughtfulness I’ve come to expect from Ishiguro, though it is nowhere near as thought provoking and satisfying as ‘Never Let Me Go, which is a similar genre. But it is a long way from one of his best. It becomes entangled in environmental questions without any clarity of idea or purpose, giving it a contrived and slightly ‘woke’ feel. The portrayal of the English character, Helen, is extremely irritating, seemingly based on all the false and silly ‘Hollywood’ ideas of Englishness that are so inaccurate and irritating to anyone who is English, and unworthy of the writer, whose previous portrayals of English characters have been so natural. It feels as if this novel is aimed directly at an American, rather than an international, audience. And the prolonged and incredibly repetitive, and therefore boring, exchange between her, her son and her former lover are both unnecessary and irritating, and detract from the main theme of the book. This section seems to act as a ‘filler’, as if the author has run out of ideas and just needs to fill in a few more pages to reach a ‘number of words’ target.
Generally the narration is pretty good, moving from very robotic in Klara’s early days to much more mature as Klara fits in with her new ‘family’, which works well. But again, the interpretation of Helen’s English accent is both hackneyed-Hollywood style and very irritating.
Is this a book, like Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, that I could read, listen to or watch in film form (and there’s little doubt this will appear before long on the big screen) again and again? No, definitely not. It will more than likely end up in my archive, never to re-emerge!

Loses its way.......

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The actor is wonderful in many respects, however their attempt at a British accent is strange. For me it was incredibly off putting making me dread the sections with certain characters. So if you find a bad British accent off putting I would recommend the print version.

Great story, terrible attempt at British accent

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I loved this book. Ishiguro once again explores where technology may take us. Artificial beings that learn and their interaction with humans, told by Klara herself. Some reviews haven’t liked the ending, but for me it was right, and left me thinking long after the story had finished.

One fault-the narration. For the most part it is just right, but one character is supposed to be English. As the story is told by Klara with her incredible ability to learn and imitate, she would have been able to produce a credible English accent, unlike the narrator. Don’t let this stop you reading this, but I found it irritating.

Ishiguro at his best

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- my title is the whole plot.
The SPD Klara is brought in so that Josie will not experience loneliness. Isn't that a strange idea? Why should we not be solitary sometimes; is loneliness such a fearful thing? Not as bad as genetically enhancing your children which is the norm in this society. The boy Rick, her actual human friend, hasn't had this treatment. Hang on isn't that the plot of Brave New World?
Klara thinks the sun is a god that can influence things. Her language is horribly simple. Unfortunately because of this she just sounds like an ordinary American girl. She does give away some of her brain chemicals at one point but since that doesnt affect her or the plot, is it so interesting? Not really.
I think this book is benefitting from the kind of new clothes that a mythical emperor stood out in; it's simplistic, plain and obvious, and all drama is flattened and avoided.
Just a note, chapters run in to each other horribly. Surely we can have a pause between one and another?

Solar Powered Doll Wears Out

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I enjoyed watching Clara mature as a character. She took us on an emotional journey.

emotional hardhitting brilliant

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