Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Sci fi novel of an artificial friend getting adopted into a weird family.
⭐️ ⭐️
Pros: very intriguing plot
Cons: story fell flat, not much to connect with, not much to keep me hooked and excited to read, boring
This will be a no spoiler review because 1) there isn't anything to spoil and 2) I don’t remember much about this because I was checked out.
Klara is an Artificial Friend waiting to be adopted and subsequently befriend a child who wants an AF. In this world, lots of children/families have AF's. This felt very similar to the set up in Little Eyes, another sci fi novel I read this year about robotic pets that you can own. Artificial Friends seem to be very similar to robots but can look like humans, learn/retain information and understand emotion to a certain extent. Each AF is different with different strengths and weaknesses, new models are released regularly so having the latest is a common urge among people. Klara's strength is her attention to detail, to learning about her environment, observing people and the way they move, react, emote, respond. She also believes the sun to be a powerful deity.
That is about as much as I got before I zoned out.
When I started reading, I was actually super intrigued by the plot and the book did have some subject matter and interactions that were pretty cool but they all fell flat. That's not why I hated it though…
None of the characters really stood out or resonated with me. Some of them had interesting qualities or circumstances surrounded them, but I felt like they were hollow at the end of the day. That's not why I hated it either…
The reason I hated it was because it was so. freaking. boring. to read. Not one climax was in this book, not even a rising action. Everything was a flat, barren desert and I was dying of thirst and boredom at equal rates. It's always a bummer when a book doesn't come through and isn't enjoyable, especially because I had such high hopes.
Overall, I don't recommend it but then again, you may appreciate it in a way I wasn't able to. Art is subjective so if you do give it a shot and do enjoy it, please let me know. I'd love to hear your thoughts!