{"id":137218,"date":"2021-02-16T09:43:42","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T22:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/?p=137218"},"modified":"2021-03-02T08:20:28","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T21:20:28","slug":"review-klara-and-the-sun-by-kazuo-ishiguro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2021\/02\/16\/review-klara-and-the-sun-by-kazuo-ishiguro\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Klara<\/a>
Review by Jo Lewin<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kazuo Ishiguro has given us just eight novels over his forty year career. Each one is a perfect but unique pearl that bears little resemblance to the works that have preceded it. So it was with excitement and curiosity that I plunged into Klara and the Sun<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Kazuo<\/a>

Kazuo Ishiguro<\/p><\/div>\n

In the first few pages, I erroneously assumed that Klara, with her obsession with sunlight, was a plant. It wouldn\u2019t be off-brand for Ishiguro to write a book from a plant\u2019s point of view, because after novels about butlers, organ donation and Britain in the Middle Ages, little would surprise me.<\/p>\n\n\n

The truth is no less strange. Klara is in fact an \u2018AF\u2019, or \u2018Artificial Friend\u2019, waiting in a store to be chosen by a child like a puppy in a pet shop. The novel is written from Klara\u2019s point of view and although she is clearly an artificial being, the complexity and subtlety of emotions appear human-like to the reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the butler Stevens in Ishiguro\u2019s Booker-winning The Remains of the Day<\/em>, Klara\u2019s life\u2019s purpose is to serve. When she is selected by a family to become a permanent companion and best friend to their ailing child, she takes the task to heart and learns all there is to know about this family, their motivations and how to make her child happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But all is not as it seems in the world of Klara and the Sun<\/em>. Not all children are created equal in these times, with privileged children being enhanced to become \u2018lifted\u2019 to give them a competitive intellectual edge over others. The process is seemingly risky and has taken its toll on Klara\u2019s child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was Klara really chosen by this family as a companion for this ill child, or is the truth much darker? The answer to this question plays out as only Ishiguro can tell it \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do your homework<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve finished Klara and the Sun<\/em> and find yourself wanting more, Ishiguro\u2019s back catalogue is a treasure trove, with one Booker winner and three Booker shortlisted novels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9780571258246\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Remains of the Day<\/a><\/strong><\/em> is still his classic work, focusing on an aging butler reflecting on a life dedicated to service over all, even to the detriment of affairs of the heart. It won Ishiguro a Booker Prize in 1989 and the character of Stevens was brought to life by Anthony Hopkins in the movie adaptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9780571258093\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Never Let Me Go<\/a><\/strong><\/em> at first glance appears to run along similar lines, focusing on a group of privileged students at an English boarding school. But there is a darker twist and the book veers from a classic coming of age tale to border on science fiction. Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan starred in the film adaptation, which is well worth your viewing. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9780571283873\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

An Artist of the Floating World<\/a><\/strong><\/em> is a novel of reminiscences from a well known artist in post war Japan. It was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9780571283880\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When We Were Orphans<\/a><\/strong><\/em> follows a London detective investigating the death of his parents between London and Shanghai in the years between WWI and WWII. This is another one that was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

—Klara and the Sun<\/a><\/em> by Kazuo Ishiguro (Allen & Unwin) is out on the 2nd of March.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘A perfect but unique pearl.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":137223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[6678],"tags":[12492,1974,3025,12491,7163,3914,4484,5884,12493],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/KlaraandtheSun-Social.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137218"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137218"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138263,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137218\/revisions\/138263"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}