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Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

33 replies

OnlyTeaForMe · 04/03/2021 13:58

This was launched this week and I watched the Guardian Live interview with Ishiguro himself, which was great.

I loved Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, so I was so excited for this new novel.

I just finished it this morning and feel rather flat and bit disappointed. It wasn't the novel I was expecting and I just felt that it skirted around a lot of the really interesting issues it raised.

Would love to talk to anyone else once they've read it to see if it's just me?

OP posts:
RoyalCorgi · 07/03/2021 20:32

I've just finished it and pitched up here to see if there was a thread!

I feel slightly the same way as your, OP. I think part of the problem is that Never Let Me Go was so very good and had a similar, or not-dissimilar, idea. And I can't decide whether Klara was utterly brilliant or a clever premise that didn't quite come to fruition. There was so much about love and loss and pain and what it means to be human - and yet somehow it didn't quite come together. The thing that made it good was also the thing that didn't work: it was narrated by the robot, the artificial friend, and he did an amazing job of keeping up that single viewpoint throughout. But because Klara wasn't human, and therefore doesn't show emotion, then it also feels a little flat.

HappydaysArehere · 06/03/2021 18:29

I have loved him but stopped reading his books when he went dystopian which is a shame. Also read Margaret Atwood until she too took to the same road.

Original poster
OnlyTeaForMe · 05/03/2021 20:43

It's mainly about a near-future society where an ill young girl has an AF - an Artificial Friend called Klara - as a companion.
The whole book is narrated from Klara's perspective as she tries to understand what it means to be human and relate to human emotions etc.

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IHaveBrilloHair · 05/03/2021 19:42

What is it about?
I also love his two books you mentioned but are his only ones I've read.

Original poster
OnlyTeaForMe · 05/03/2021 13:08

Just finished it yesterday!

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ApplestheHare · 05/03/2021 10:03

Haha I shall read it next! You've intrigued me with the wondering of whether it's gone over your head. Are you reading now?

Original poster
OnlyTeaForMe · 05/03/2021 09:14

Oh yes, @ApplestheHare - come back when you’ve read it!
I’m having a crisis of confidence over it and just wondering if it’s actually brilliant but it’s gone completely over my head?
All the reviews are gushing, but that’s often the case when a new book from a well-loved author comes out.

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ApplestheHare · 04/03/2021 22:12

I really want to read it but am still on Cazalet Chronicles so I'll come back to this thread when I've got round to it. The review I read sounded good. I know my DH felt as you described after Never Let Me Go, which I loved.