Saw on Good Morning America, heard the recommendation and had to read it.
The publisher granted me an ARC.

I was suddenly in this book and could not stop reading until I fell
asleep with book, took it to work next day so I could finish.

This is a unique story!

Classic Ishiguro -- lovely, melancholy, intensely observant and beautifully written. There were moments when reading this that, despite the cold gray outside, I could feel the sun shining on me. The poignant story of a teenage girl and her AF - Artificial Friend - Klara and the Sun unfolds slowly but it's Ishiguro so the journey is worth it. His writing is so precise and so lyrical that though this story takes place in the future, it feels like an age-old fable.

Such a quiet story but it contains many prompts to consider the meaning of being human. The narrator is an AF (artificial friend [artificial intelligence]) so it is through her eyes and experiences that we mature with her and evaluate those around her. One of the most thought-provoking parts of this novel involves the idea of truth: is it only true if it is evidence supported or can it also be real if it is an emotional truth. Other notable topics include genetic engineering, the role of technology in society, and even pollution. I totally enjoyed this peek into the near future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Edelweiss for the ARC to read and review.

Reading this book was a stunning experience. Despite being so full and layered, it also felt a little scant (which is in no way a criticism...it absolutely pairs with the book and the structure and overall effect.) I just always want more of the books I love this way.

Klara is precious and loyal and kind. This is a book I'll return to many times over.

Beautiful, devastating, and thought-provoking. The style and tone are very similar to Never Let Me Go, but the story itself made me think of the Kubrick/Spielberg film "A.I." I'm a fan of any fiction that explores the concept of artificial intelligence. I'm also, weirdly, a fan of anything that makes me feel such an overwhelming sense of dread. I feel like my heart's been ripped out of my chest..but in a good way? I highly recommend Klara and the Sun to anyone who loves literary speculative fiction.

There's no way around it - I can't start this review any other way than by telling you about how much I love Ishiguro's previous novel, Never Let Me Go. If you've been following me for a while, you've probably heard me gush about that book at one point or another. Summary: I first found it in high school, read it twice before I graduated, and have come back to it several times since then. It's one of those novels that I still find myself thinking about in odd moments.

All that to say, knowing Never Let Me Go so well really influenced my reading of Klara and the Sun. In so many ways, they're sister novels - Klara continues the conversation that Kathy started. In both, Ishiguro is exploring what it means to love and what it means to be human with the help of a near-future setting. He creates these detailed worlds but keeps most of the iceberg submerged, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for the reader to discover. Above all, he creates such trust between author and reader: we don't know where we're going, but we trust him to bring the story to fruition and he trusts us to be bright enough to appreciate his subtlety.

Like in Never Let Me Go, it's the sort of book you should go into blind. Klara, the protagonist, is an Artificial Friend waiting in a store for a customer to choose her. She's insightful and bright, and those traits are both a boon to her and a curse. It's thoughtful, moving, clever, and heartbreaking. I hope you'll pick this one up!

Beautiful, sad, meditative. I had a hard time deciding between 4 and 5 stars on this one, I’m still on the fence. Ishiguro’s writing is beautiful and spare, but still descriptive and moving. Like his other books Klara and The Sun meditates on loneliness, love, and what it means to feel these things- what it means to be human even if his subject isn’t. His writing is tender without being sentimental and filled with a sad longing.

I have a feeling that this book will stick with me for a long time and probably grow in my estimation. It is closer to Never Let Me Go than his other works I’ve read, so if you liked that one you’ll probably like this one too.


Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy!

The best novel I’ve read this year hands down . Klara waits in her store for someone to take her home . She has an affinity for the sun . She observes what happens outside the window of the store . Until one day a family chooses her and takes her home . This novel is full of beauty and emotion that will stay with you long after the last page is turned . A beautiful , mesmerizing, thrilling novel

A recent profile of Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro in The NY Times proclaimed him the prophet of the age and declared Klara and the Sun profound and powerful. I wish I could get on the bandwagon, but I finished the novel with a sense of disappointment and dispassion. I guess when you write a story from the perspective of a robot, even one created to be an AF (artificial friend) for a human, you run the risk of telling your tale without emotion. Often times a story like this works because the reader brings their own experience and translates the neutral analysis into the “real story”, colored by their personal feelings. In Klara and the Sun, I never connected with any of the characters or cared much about their problems.
The events that took place in a world not too distant from our own, revolve around a young girl Josie who is suffering from serious unspecified health issues.. It is she for whom Klara is intended to be her AF. Being an AF does not translate to sharing hopes and dreams. Klara is somewhere between a favorite toy and a roomba, but unlike the Velveteen Rabbit, love doesn’t turn her into a real girl. Josie’s family has been fractured by the death of an older sister and the separation of her parents. A longtime friendship with a boy in her neighborhood is on shaky ground because of changes in the social status of both. There appear to be no other social connections as all schooling is virtual. The combination of Josie’s health issues and Klara’s inability to experience emotions leads to a muted atmosphere despite what would seem to be deep and unjust cracks in the fabric of society.
In a world where science and technology seem to control all aspects of life, Klara, in order to cure Josie, reaches and acts on a conclusion that seems plucked directly from a fairytale. I was never able to buy into her action and all that followed.
Klara and the Sun may have been offered up as an indictment of the world ahead of us, but to me, the whole construction lacked the passion that drives us and makes us connect to a story.

I just finished reading Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, which comes out March 2, 2021. You are all in for a treat. Ishiguro’s first novel since winning the Nobel is a lovely soft gem. My full review will be out on the day of publication.

Nobel laureat4 Ishiguro takes on the future as he explores artificial intelligence. Klara is an AF (artificial friend). Klara is the latest model and she has excellent empathic skills. Chosen to be the AF for 14-year-old Josie. Josie is very ill. Her older sister has died and her mother is desperate to save Josie. Friends and family take different approaches to saving Josie, but it’s Klara who makes a deal with the Sun to save Josie. I’d call this a dystopian fable about the human heart, which makes “each of us pecial and individual”, or does it.

It always feels a little precarious to start a new book by a beloved author. I count Kazuo Ishiguro's THE REMAINS OF THE DAY and NEVER LET ME GO as all-time favorite books, so KLARA AND THE SUN was both my most highly anticipated release of 2021 and the book I was most nervous would disappoint me. Readers, this did not disappoint. This book follows Klara, an AF (Artificial Friend) who begins the novel waiting at her store for the right child to choose her and take her home. Klara is particularly perceptive, and Ishiguro uses her voice to draw in readers in a manner that is almost mesmerizing. I truly couldn't put this book down, even when little was happening. But this is Ishiguro and so what I loved most--beyond the gorgeous language--was the questions he poses about what it means to be human. In this way, KLARA feels very much in conversation with NLMG, but I loved that Ishiguro is coming at these themes from a different angle and perhaps even coming up with a different answer to that ultimate "what is a human being" question. I also adored Klara's voice. The way she sees the world is so pure, even though we readers can see that her world is anything but pure. This is a really special book and I think many readers will love it whether it's their first or fifth Ishiguro. It's out 3/2 and I can't wait to discuss the ending once more readers get the chance to pick it up!⁠

Oh my god, absolutely heartbreaking. I had the feeling that there would be a melancholy to this novel -- it's Ishiguro, after all -- but I really didn't expect this. It's sweet at times, in the way that the last days of summer or childhood or a person's life can be sweet, but also irrevocably linked to melancholy too. I was ready to start crying about twenty pages in and... yeah, more or less felt that way throughout.

Klara and the Sun is beautifully written through the eyes of an AF waiting for her human companion to pick her. Ishiguro handles so many complex themes in this book: what does it mean to be human, what do we expect from others, what is the meaning of true friendship and the relationships between parents and their children.

I found this book really interesting because it's science fiction but at the same time, doesn't feel like it. I think this comes down to the quiet atmosphere Ishiguro creates in his work. This book is so beautiful and I will be searching for the nurturing effects of the sun for weeks to come.

Ishiguro's ability to explain this future earth through the eyes of Klara was excellent. I thought that he showed the limitations of Klara's ability to understand the world around her was realistic and I didn't mind the bits I didn't understand entirely, because I don't think we are supposed to. I love when authors blur the edges of the world they create through the narrator. I think it reflects our own human experience and understanding of the world.

I was very excited to read this. It started off really great but got a little weird. The point of view is an AI whose abilities and physical traits aren't shared at first. About a 1/3rd of the way through, the narrator drops in descriptions of her visual system. This isn't introduced, though, and it isn't clear if this is how her system is supposed to work and was not incorporated earlier, if it's a flaw in her system, if it's related to virtual reality or something else. This function or view is never explained and remains confusing.

More information in general would have made the story smoother. The main character's child/owner is ill but the origin of her illness isn't shared until late in the book, and the process that underlies her illness isn't explored. On the one hand, all that background doesn't necessarily matter to the narrator, but she is always presented as being curious and observant, so it doesn't make sense that this wouldn't matter to her.

The action of the second half of the book revolves around Klara's actions, based on a superstitious belief she has created. There would be a lot of room to explore AI superstitions, either culturally or created individual by individual, but this is not the point at all.

Finally, the dialogue from the other characters was stilted and jumpy.

Recommended for existing fans of the author. Sci-fi fans looking for an exploration of possible AI futures may be disappointed.

KLARA AND THE SUN centers around Klara, a humanoid robot whose purpose is to be an artificial friend (AF) to children. Her generation of AF is dependent on the sun, therefore she likes to be close to the window in the store, also increasing her chances to find an owner.

In Klara's turn in the window, she is always learning about the outside- she carefully observes people's behavior, the building and pedestrians crossing the street; so the moment she's out, she could act properly. I was surprised by Klara's insightful perception of the world as she notices and absorbs nuances that we, as busy and careless as we are, give little attention.

Ishiguro masterfully examines the complexity of humanity - what is the meaning of life? what it means to be human? how people change in different situations as though wearing a mask?
The genius character study allied to subtle social commentary added philosophical touch to the story while being emotional at times. It was beautiful to follow Klara's connection with the sun (personification) and I frequently wanted to hug her for her innocent hope. There were some awkward parts yet compelling dialogues that left me bewildered and, at the same time, held my interest. Lastly, I have to say that it was very satisfying to see the way the plot unfolded beautifully while I didn't have a glimpse of the mystery.

KLARA AND THE SUN is a memorable tale with fantastic writing. The sci-fi and mystery elements were brilliant to provide us a deep meditation on love, friendship, ethics, technology and family. Just read this book because I need to discuss it.

Wow! This is as close to perfection as I can recall reading. It was like really listening to Stairway to Heaven with your eyes closed for the first time. I felt like I was in a half dream.

This was a 2.5 rounded to 3 star read for me.

Ultimately, this book was really depressing. It ended, and I was just left with a bleak, unsatisfied, meh feeling that I just did not care for. On the whole, the book was interesting, in terms of premise, perspective, etc. The idea that a book is told from the perspective of an AF (Artificial Friend, aka robot with a consciousness) makes for an interesting device to hit at those "robots are just robots" people. If a book can be told by a thing's p.o.v. doesn't that thing's emotional viability and "person-ness" become elevated in some way? I'd argue that it does.

The premise is that a robot/artificial intelligence/Artificial Friend is on sale in a store and she is observant. She observes and learns and evaluates and analyzes things around her, especially interactions and relationships. She and other AF's get an energy boost from solar power and she watches the sun's movements through the sky via the light changes in the store. So to her, the sun is a god, and he is the Sun, a benevolent being that bestows his light and powers upon the lucky and the sunbathed.

Take this premise and the p.o.v. of Klara (AF in the store) and now we come to the book. The book is set in a world some time in the future; a future with AF's and with other societal norms, with elite people who have access to education only if they've been "lifted." Here's were the book falls short for me. The world is not explained enough for me to ever be comfortable with these allusions to things that are not further explained. I understand the device of merely referring to things then using plot and dialogue to create a definition without blatant exposition, but this book didn't have that for me. What the heck is "lifting" anyway? Genetic modification? Is that what makes someone ill? and if they survive they are "lifted"? Are family units assigned and then reassigned, based on employment? and is employment based on some kind of government run system? Are AF's just for children? Are they just to help with socialization and self-reflection? Why are they essential at all when there are still other people and children and genetic modifications? What is the point of them if they are constantly being upgraded, like smartphone versions? Are they only for super elite rich people? I guess?

I had way too many questions for the simple philosophical musings of an AF observing life and emotions and relationships to really work for me, and ultimately found myself only driven to keep reading by the hope that more would be explained, which it never is. So, I find myself left bereft and unsatisfied.

I never would have thought I would be crying over a robot character in a story. This was so sweet, and so sad. It really broke my heart.

I adored this book. Rarely has an author imbued artificial intelligence with so much compassion and sensitivity. The ending was bittersweet, but ultimately optimistic. More fables like this, please!