Klara and the Sun

Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro’s latest release, explores the human heart from the perspective of an android — a so called “Artificial Friend” (AF) by the name Klara. We meet Klara in her early days, when she’d being modelled in a store, waiting to be purchased.

Artificial Friends are designed as companions to children, and Klara often observes kids walking around with their AFs on the streets outside the store. From the beginning, Klara is described as unusually sharp and attentive. Her curiosity for knowledge and her eagerness to understand the human world only increases when she finally gets chosen and is brought to her new home.

Klara makes for a brilliant protagonist — in some respects the reader is smarter, already familiar with the world that Klara is describing and experiencing for the first time; in others, they are as unacquainted as her. What’s more, Ishiguro has crafted a distinct voice for Klara, one that is easily distinguishable from that of humans. She has a keen eye for detail, both when it comes to her surroundings and human interactions.

The downside of Klara’s limited perspective is that Ishiguro’s world remains largely unexplored and many of the society’s conflicts are merely alluded to. It almost makes me wish there’d been a final except from a different perspective; perhaps something along the lines of Atwood’s “historical notes” at the end of The Handmaid’s Tale.

My favourite aspect of the novel is the air of mystery and the uncanny. Similar to Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro only shares hints and small clues at a time, leaving the reader to speculate on their own. The futuristic world in which the novel is set closely resembles today’s society, but scientific achievement has clearly come further. The question is, at what cost?

Through Klara, Ishiguro explores recognisable themes of love and loyalty, while also touching on relevant and complex ideas such as the ethics of science. More than once he asks how far we’re willing to go, and what risks we’re willing to take — for science, for family, and for love.

Expertly written, I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I’ll end on a note about the title; the sun plays a central role in the story and Klara’s life, and I simply loved this detail and the very simple but apt title.