Book Review: Klara and the Sun

I was wandering around Camden and making my way to Primrose Hill when I passed by Primerose Hill Books, a tiny local bookstore with a pretty blue shopfront. I honestly can't remember the last time I stepped foot in a bookstore with the actual intent of buying a book, but I walked out of that bookstore with Crying In H Mart and Klara and the Sun. I didn't know anything about Kazuo Ishiguro (even though he's won a Nobel Prize), but I was feeling particularly inspired that day to read some literature from Asian authors.

This review is LONG overdue, but Klara and the Sun generally gave me an uneasy feeling more than anything else. That's not to say that the book is an unpleasant read -- however, it definitely gets a little weird when diving into sci-fi/dystopian topics. It can drag on with long, descriptive paragraphs and choppy dialogue at times, but there is something eerie about this book. It still is able to give a new perspective on human life and love, which is something else I enjoyed as well.

Synopsis

Our titular character Klara is an AF — an artificial friend who sits in a storefront waiting to go home to the perfect child. In my head, AFs are something like a life-size, solar-powered American Girl Doll with a hyper-intelligent Siri installed in it. From the beginning, Klara exhibits a remarkable ability to observe and understand human behavior and action, which gives her some elementary emotional intelligence. Eventually, Klara connects with Josie, a sickly but enthusiastic child who comes into the store.

Klara then acts as a companion and helper for Josie, who drifts in and out of sickness due to lifting. In the novel, lifting is implied to be a type of gene-editing procedure that is common among the youth. The process is risky and we also find out that Josie's older sister Sal passed away from lifting. We also are introduced to a slew of other characters, including Rick (Josie's outcast unlifted friend) and his mother, Josie's mother, Mr. Capaldi, and more. The main plot of the story revolves around Josie's sickness and its effects on others, particularly the Mother. In some disturbing scenes, the Mother asks Klara to mimic Josie's speech and walking — eventually, we find out that the Mother and Mr. Capaldi plan to use Klara's mind inside an avatar/voodoo doll replica of Josie if Josie dies.

Determined to save her human, Klara embarks on a mission to get the Sun to use its "special powers" to save Josie. As Klara is a solar-powered machine, her reverence towards the Sun is God-like, and she attempts to communicate and sacrifice herself for the Sun. Eventually, Josie does miraculously recover from her sickness after Klara's endeavors, goes to college, and leaves Josie behind. The novel ends with Klara sitting in a junkyard slowly fading away, but happily reminiscing about her time with Josie.

Analysis and Reflection

I really enjoyed the way that Ishiguro wrote Klara — since she's a robot, she makes astute, candid observations about the humans around her. One thing that she continually observes (and something that is a central theme in the novel) is loneliness. There are a few quotes from the novel that pin loneliness as the root of other negative feelings, which isn't something that you would necessarily think about off the bat:

"Josie is kind underneath. And those other children. They have rough ways, but they may not be so unkind. They fear loneliness and that's why they behave as they do. Perhaps Josie too." (p. 94)

"What was becoming clear to me was the extent to which humans, in their wish to escape loneliness, made maneuvers that were very complex and hard to fathom" (p. 127)

"Yes. Until recently, I didn't think that humans could choose loneliness. That there were sometimes forces more powerful than the wish to avoid loneliness." (p. 172)

For Klara, her level of emotional detachment allows her to do things like notice people's behavior is tied to things like loneliness, inadequacy, and desire for belonging. In general, it re-emphasizes my belief that people typically don't act out for no reason. Everyone has their own traumas and anxieties that affect how they interact with others, and it's important to keep that in mind before passing judgment on them.

The next quote shows how Ishiguro highlights how technology is evolving at a rapid pace — Josie's father talks to Klara in this scene about Capaldi and the Mother's plan to create the Josie voodoo doll/avatar. This scene was giving Black Mirror vibes, and to be honest, it also does reflect the strange reality that AI is becoming more and more "human."

"I think I hate Capaldi because deep down I suspect he may be right. That what he claims is true. That science has now proved beyond doubt there's nothing so unique about my daughter, nothing there that our modern tools can't excavate, copy, transfer." (p. 249)

Finally, the last quote relates to Rick's school application. I chose to look at this because I've been talking to some people about the college application + decision process and how random/corrupt it can be. Rick's mother asks an old lover to meet up because he is in a leadership position at a highly competitive school that Rick could study at. However, her ex-lover sees right through the niceties and networking and directly asks Rick why he is asking for favoritism in the application process. It's stated earlier that Rick is uncomfortable in the situation, and this just reminds me of how parents are overzealous when it comes to their children's future success (and how they disregard what the child actually wants).

"We receive vastly more applications from people like yours than we're able to accommodate... Now Rick. You said just now you're not seeking favoritism. Then let me ask you this. If that really is the case, then why am I sitting here in front of you now?" (p. 277)

Closing Thoughts

To be totally honest, there were moments in the book that were very underwhelming and slow. However, key scenes can make up for the lack of action by facilitating a deeply unsettling tone and vibe that embodies the main message of the story. After reading this, I think my main takeaway is to be wary of over-relying on technology the way Josie's peers/society do. I would recommend this if you enjoy dystopian novels that aren't too alien to the world we live in now, as it definitely delves deep into themes like belonging, choice, freedom, and love.