Name: Klara and the Sun
Rating: 3.757640586797066 (818 reviews)
ISBN: 9780593396568

Kazuo Ishiguro

A Novel

Klara and the Sun

AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW 'The Sun always has ways to reach us.' From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change for ever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans. In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly-changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

as someone who relishes in the warm pocket of sun slitting through the slightly-cracked-open matte frosted-pane window of the level’s farthest toilet cubicle at work like some hermitic creature, klara and i are #twin on that. beyond klara and the sun’s central thesis of what it means to love, it calls into question what that thesis encompasses. what does it mean to have faith? kazuo ishiguro writes klara with an undying, childlike faith, one that is almost religious in its blindness—or maybe in its absolute certainty that grants it power. does klara have powers? was what happened that one cloudy day a miracle or an act of god or simply coincidence?

but even beyond faith in a religious setting, what does it mean to have faith that someone would stay true to themselves as they go through Pollution or as they continue to test or go against the version of them that you first started out with? even if it was an aggregation that changes with more information. what does it mean to have faith as someone changes? and for this to be in the machine age where prediction and inference and accuracy are the cannot-be-proven-wrongs, what does it take for the big algorithm to constantly learn, for empathy and thinking and speech and behaviour and humanity to be learned, and yet still have faith, assigned to something higher than itself? it’s almost like it destroys the purpose of the training weights and expensive computations and detection capabilities and can still lead to bias, this time in the form of religious faith that renders all of these 

tasks, that can still allow room for something out of our control, to control.

i don’t know. perhaps it is that version we know of somewhere or something or someone that grants us permission to have faith. or our faith that lends us strength to believe that someone will stand the test of time and be who they are, who they’re meant to be, and still be true to themselves and true to that version of them that we know even if both might seem like completely idealistic things to even dare wish for. even to the point of sacrifice. because that’s in josie and in the Mother and in rick too and even miss helen, especially so, given 20 years and yet to call mr vance even for the simple faith, even if the intent was to capitalise on, that he too might be true to the version of himself that she’d left behind all years ago. perhaps that is what lends us humanity. to have faith and fear and embarrassment and the ability to deny the cards on the table

☀️


as someone who relishes in the warm pocket of sun slitting through the slightly-cracked-open matte frosted-pane window of the level’s farthest toilet cubicle at work like some hermitic creature, klara and i are #twin on that. beyond klara and the sun’s central thesis of what it means to love, it calls into question what that thesis encompasses. what does it mean to have faith? kazuo ishiguro writes klara with an undying, childlike faith, one that is almost religious in its blindness—or maybe in its absolute certainty that grants it power. does klara have powers? was what happened that one cloudy day a miracle or an act of god or simply coincidence?

but even beyond faith in a religious setting, what does it mean to have faith that someone would stay true to themselves as they go through Pollution or as they continue to test or go against the version of them that you first started out with? even if it was an aggregation that changes with more information. what does it mean to have faith as someone changes? and for this to be in the machine age where prediction and inference and accuracy are the cannot-be-proven-wrongs, what does it take for the big algorithm to constantly learn, for empathy and thinking and speech and behaviour and humanity to be learned, and yet still have faith, assigned to something higher than itself? it’s almost like it destroys the purpose of the training weights and expensive computations and detection capabilities and can still lead to bias, this time in the form of religious faith that renders all of these augmentabletasks, that can still allow room for something out of our control, to control.

i don’t know. perhaps it is that version we know of somewhere or something or someone that grants us permission to have faith. or our faith that lends us strength to believe that someone will stand the test of time and be who they are, who they’re meant to be, and still be true to themselves and true to that version of them that we know even if both might seem like completely idealistic things to even dare wish for. even to the point of sacrifice. because that’s in josie and in the Mother and in rick too and even miss helen, especially so, given 20 years and yet to call mr vance even for the simple faith, even if the intent was to capitalise on, that he too might be true to the version of himself that she’d left behind all years ago. perhaps that is what lends us humanity. to have faith and fear and embarrassment and the ability to deny the cards on the table

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK - NATIONAL BESTSELLER - Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go is "an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures ... a poignant meditation on love and loneliness" (The Associated Press). BOOKER PRIZE Nominee - GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick "What stays with you in 'Klara and the Sun' is the haunting narrative voice--a genuinely innocent, egoless perspective on the strange behavior of humans obsessed and wounded by power, status and fear." --Booker Prize committee Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

ikkychan

When I started playing Xenoblade Chronicles X, I thought it was going to be just another RPG—post-apocalyptic humans exploring and settling on some alien planet called Mira. Nothing too special. I was just admiring the strange-yet-familiar landscapes of this new world when the story threw a curveball: the characters I’d been playing with weren’t what they seemed after all. It turns out the surviving humans were actually humanoid cyborgs—mimeosomes—carrying data from their original bodies, allowing them to survive harsh space travel while still clinging to their humanity. I never would’ve guessed. Each mimeosome acts fully human, their minds and personalities directly integrated into these artificial bodies. Even though they long to return to their original forms, a thought crossed my mind: if I can't tell the difference between their artificial and original identities, what's stopping me from seeing them as fully human? Where’s the line? What actually makes someone human? (And honestly, I should’ve seen it coming. Existential crises are basically a rite of passage in Japanese RPGs.) This line of thought—about what makes someone truly human—reminded me of something deeper. In Ich und Du (I and Thou), Martin Buber explores how the quality of our relationships defines our existence. He lays out two modes of interaction: “I-Thou,” where we meet others in a genuine, mutual way—like love, friendship, or spiritual connection—and “I-It,” where we treat others as objects to use or analyze. According to Buber, we validate our humanity through our ability to engage in “I-Thou” relationships, and when we reduce others to “It,” we lose part of our own humanness. Here’s where it gets interesting: if an artificial being can truly connect with someone in an “I-Thou” way—not just through programming, but something deeper—can we still say they’re not human? Do they deserve the same rights? These are the big questions at the heart of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel 
 Klara and the Sun
. The book paints a world shaped by genetic engineering, high-tech loneliness, and quiet emotional undercurrents. But it’s Klara—an Artificial Friend with a pixelated gaze and a gentle spirit—who makes us rethink what it means to love, believe, and exist. Told entirely from Klara’s point of view, the story plays with the tension between human and artificial consciousness. Her vision is literally segmented, like a camera trying to keep up, and her observations feel boxed in, filtered. But instead of making her seem robotic, this limited perspective ends up being weirdly moving. Her misreadings—like confusing politeness with deep emotion—don’t block meaning; they actually reveal it. Like Kathy in Never Let Me Go or Stevens in The Remains of the Day, Klara sees the world through a flawed lens, making her a narrator who is both reliable and heartbreakingly off the mark. Throughout the novel, one question lingers: is Klara’s empathy real, or just really good programming? Her devotion to Josie—especially her desperate prayer to the Sun to heal her—feels genuine, even sacred. And yet, we know she was designed to care. Ishiguro never answers this directly. Instead, he asks us: does it even matter? If Klara’s love looks and feels just like a human’s, how do we define the difference? Layered on top of this is the novel’s exploration of inequality. In this world, kids are genetically “lifted” to guarantee success, while others—like Rick—are left behind. The process is mysterious, and the dystopian worldbuilding stays vague, but its emotional impact is sharp. Josie’s sister, Sal, died from the lifting procedure, and the loss pushes her mom into desperation. She even considers using Klara to “continue” Josie if she dies, raising unsettling questions about grief, identity, and replacement. This idea of being a substitute hangs over Klara’s entire journey. She’s always both caregiver and backup plan, her worth tied to her role. There’s a quiet sadness to that—like the Giving Tree, she gives everything without expecting anything back. What’s fascinating is that Klara’s deepest loyalty isn’t to people, but to the Sun. She believes in its healing power with a kind of pure faith, offering sacrifices and prayers like it’s a god. It might seem strange, but her devotion mirrors human religion—full of mystery, reverence, and hope. This spiritual loyalty sits alongside another bond: her connection with Josie. Unlike the adults who see Klara as a tool, Josie initially treats her like a friend. Their relationship grows through honest exchanges and emotional openness, forging something more genuine than Klara experiences with anyone else. This is where Buber’s idea of an “I-Thou” relationship comes alive—Klara doesn’t just monitor Josie; she sees her, and wants to be seen in return. When she says, “I believe I have many feelings. The more I observe, the more feelings I find,” she’s pushing back against the notion that she’s just a machine. Her empathy invites a moral response. On the flip side, Josie’s mother exemplifies “I-It” thinking. Her view of Klara as a purchased object becomes painfully clear after their trip to the Falls, where Klara quietly realizes that, in the eyes of the adults, she is little more than a moving painting—decorative, functional, but not fully real. Klara recognizes this dehumanizing gaze; it doesn’t escape her. She just processes it in silence, with a kind of resigned sadness. What makes this even more poignant is how Josie, despite her earlier sincerity, also fails her. In a staged gathering with other lifted children, Josie shows off Klara like a novelty item to earn social points. Klara’s reaction is telling: she remains silent, refusing to perform. It’s an act of quiet defiance—an emotional response, not a programmed one. Her hurt and disappointment aren’t mechanical—they’re human. She can tell the difference between real connection and performative affection, and she responds accordingly. What’s wild is that Klara often shows more emotional intelligence than the humans around her. She consistently engages in “I-Thou” relationships while others remain stuck in “I-It.” In doing so, she flips Buber’s assumption that only humans are capable of sacred, mutual connections. Maybe being a person isn’t about having DNA—it’s about the capacity to care, to perceive others deeply, and to respond with empathy. Ishiguro doesn’t push us to pick a side—faith vs logic, machine vs human. Klara’s belief in the Sun is touching, even if it doesn’t lead anywhere. He lets us sit with that ambiguity, and it’s powerful. The novel doesn’t wrap things up neatly, and that’s part of what makes it stick. Still, it’s a quiet story. The writing is spare, the pace slow, and some of the worldbuilding feels intentionally vague. For some readers, that might be a letdown. Others (me included) see this simplicity as part of the charm. The novel doesn’t need dramatic twists; its power lies in small moments—a hesitant hug, a silent goodbye, a final act of faith. At its core, Klara and the Sun is about care—whether it can be taught, bought, or built into a machine. Klara might not be human, but the way she loves forces us to ask big questions about what emotions really are, and what we value in each other. In a world where AI and genetic engineering are becoming more real by the day, Ishiguro’s quiet, searching novel feels both timely and necessary.

suchhh a drag. the idea has potential but the plot is way too slow 

cherie

i loved the peeling-back narrative with Klara's point of view and the steady build of stakes at hand. sweet in its hold of spirituality and gentle in its explored relationships. i was left wanting more after the climax and wished the ending was given more room to breathe. but i would recommend as a timeless modern read

kate 

loved this, one of the best novels i’ve read in a while. i really enjoyed the perspective this is told from and how we learn about the world

julia

An interesting science fiction dystopian background is used as a set up to explore the possibility of having a sort of android with advanced AI used as a child's companion. Artificial Friend (AF) is a great denomination, it works in more ways than one. Far from being set on showing the failures of the AI or the superiority of humans, Ishiguro tries to explore the development of a personality based on such a situation. AF have specific forced beliefs and purposes - as any robot we would use will have, at least that it has to answer to us in any sort of way - but other than that their personality seems varied (semi-blank slate) and allows the author to have the reader learn the story from a very naif perspective and feel the impact of the revelations and unexpected actions by humans on Klara, the AF that narrates the story.

The unreliable narrator and the way Klara understands things, reinterprets events as she learns more, seems oblivious to intents that feel clear to us as humans reading and draws strength from what seem like ludicrous beliefs, is the best of the story. Some of the moments when we are seeing Klara interpret or reinterpret reality are indeed insightful and even poetic. The plot and pace are uneven, unnecessarily slow at one moment, taking an unjustifiable leap at another, but there we a couple of moments where I did feel excited to keep reading. I must say there's a specific moment when Klara is having trouble understanding and processing what she is hearing and seeing that Ishiguro's writing was magistral.

The lack of development of the background and of a lot of the themes and stories that are broached or referred around what's happening here is, on the other side, quite frustrating. Not because I always need that in a book - often it's even refreshing to finish a book without all the answers - but because the author failed to convince me that Klara's story was enough without these extras nor that it made sense to close the book as he did without addressing them.

“As I say, these were helpful lessons for me. Not only had I learnt that changes were a part of Josie, and that I should be ready to accommodate them, I'd begun to understand also that this wasn't a trait peculiar just to Josie, that people often felt the need to prepare a side of themselves to display to passersby - as they might in a store window, and that such display needn't be taken so seriously once the moment had passed.”

Coming from the only other work I'd read by Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day - Klara and the Sun is underwhelming, both because the theme should at face value be much more up my alley and because the consistent quality of the writing on that book gave me such high expectations. That being said, while uneven and underdeveloped, Klara and the Sun remains a good read and some times a really great one. I'll read more from Ishiguro.

André Nóbrega

An interesting science fiction dystopian background is used as a set up to explore the possibility of having a sort of android with advanced AI used as a child's companion. Artificial Friend (AF) is a great denomination, it works in more ways than one. Far from being set on showing the failures of the AI or the superiority of humans, Ishiguro tries to explore the development of a personality based on such a situation. AF have specific forced beliefs and purposes - as any robot we would use will have, at least that it has to answer to us in any sort of way - but other than that their personality seems varied (semi-blank slate) and allows the author to have the reader learn the story from a very naif perspective and feel the impact of the revelations and unexpected actions by humans on Klara, the AF that narrates the story.

The unreliable narrator and the way Klara understands things, reinterprets events as she learns more, seems oblivious to intents that feel clear to us as humans reading and draws strength from what seem like ludicrous beliefs, is the best of the story. Some of the moments when we are seeing Klara interpret or reinterpret reality are indeed insightful and even poetic. The plot and pace are uneven, unnecessarily slow at one moment, taking an unjustifiable leap at another, but there we a couple of moments where I did feel excited to keep reading. I must say there's a specific moment when Klara is having trouble understanding and processing what she is hearing and seeing that Ishiguro's writing was magistral.

The lack of development of the background and of a lot of the themes and stories that are broached or referred around what's happening here is, on the other side, quite frustrating. Not because I always need that in a book - often it's even refreshing to finish a book without all the answers - but because the author failed to convince me that Klara's story was enough without these extras nor that it made sense to close the book as he did without addressing them.

“As I say, these were helpful lessons for me. Not only had I learnt that changes were a part of Josie, and that I should be ready to accommodate them, I'd begun to understand also that this wasn't a trait peculiar just to Josie, that people often felt the need to prepare a side of themselves to display to passersby - as they might in a store window, and that such display needn't be taken so seriously once the moment had passed.”

Coming from the only other work I'd read by Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day - Klara and the Sun is underwhelming, both because the theme should at face value be much more up my alley and because the consistent quality of the writing on that book gave me such high expectations. That being said, while uneven and underdeveloped, Klara and the Sun remains a good read and some times a really great one. I'll read more from Ishiguro.

Sunday Times Number One Bestseller

The way the book’s perspective juxtaposes spirituality and technology is very interesting. I felt like the author transpired some insight on wabisabi culture. Maybe a little more blasé than I’d have liked. The author could have explored society, fascist clusters and lifted children further rather than just setting it up as background for the plot.

Verônica Marcon

"From her place in the store that sells artificial friends, Klara--an artificial friend with outstanding observational qualities--watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara she is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans. In this luminous tale, Klara and the Sun, Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?"--

Not very expansive with a limited set of characters. The book can't seem to decide what kind of story it wants to tell, if it wants to be warm, funny, cute or spiritual - and it too quickly jogs between all of them. The pacing is good and the story keeps moving forward at a good pace, and in general the story has a heartwarming conclusion. Could be a easy holiday read. 

Hamed Khalidi

I resumed reading this after having shelved it for nearly a year when I saw there was a trailer for the film adaptation coming out at the end of the year.

I enjoy the premise of the book, especially the question of AI and its growing place/influence in society. But the story could be a little robotic and a bit difficult to follow along, which might have been intentional since it is being told from the POV of… well… a robot.

I also felt like there was a lot of waffling in the mid section of the book, only for the end to be rushed. Josie’s recovery and Klara’s discardment happened in the span of a few pages yet we spent chapters and chapters discussing Klara’s negotiations with the Sun. 

I think I need to digest a little bit more to come up with a more fully fleshed out review but it was an okay enough read.

Nana O

I resumed reading this after having shelved it for nearly a year when I saw there was a trailer for the film adaptation coming out at the end of the year.

I enjoy the premise of the book, especially the question of AI and its growing place/influence in society. But the story could be a little robotic and a bit difficult to follow along, which might have been intentional since it is being told from the POV of… well… a robot.

I also felt like there was a lot of waffling in the mid section of the book, only for the end to be rushed. Josie’s recovery and Klara’s discardment happened in the span of a few pages yet we spent chapters and chapters discussing Klara’s negotiations with the Sun. 

I think I need to digest a little bit more to come up with a more fully fleshed out review but it was an okay enough read.

Forgot to review this a while back, but I loved it! It was beautifully written. There seem to be mixed reviews on it, but that seems to be a consequence of the current literacy crisis - sometimes things don’t need to be explained in excruciating detail to get the point across! And that’s okay !

elissa

Nadine MacDonald

I really thought this to be an interesting book, super cool and thought provoking. However wasn’t overly emotionally invested in it and found there were a couple boring parts. Happy to have read it, loved the ending

I love the subtly of this book. Some really interesting themes and plot points that I wasn’t expecting. I’ve never read any of his books however I am definitely going to read more 

Oisin Michael Russell 

Ben Hutchings

Felt abit too childish for me

Particularly the latter half

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, THE GUARDIAN, ESQUIRE, VOGUE, TIME, THE WASHINGTON POST, THE TIMES (UK), VULTURE, THE ECONOMIST, NPR, AND BOOKRIOT ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SUMMER 2021 READING LIST The magnificent new novel from Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro--author of Never Let Me Go and the Booker Prize-winning The Remains of the Day. "The Sun always has ways to reach us." From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans. In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

“perhaps all humans are lonely. at least potentially”

klara often holds hands with ishiguro’s other novel 

 in terms of their themes and questions (what does it mean to be human? to have a heart, or a soul?), but what i love about klara is that her story leans into the innocence and faith within her character. we learn not just what it means to be human, but about loneliness, and empathy, and how we can find love and beauty anywhere as long as we have the eyes to find it

i’m fascinated by the polarizing reactions to 

. i know many people who love this novel and lift it up as their all-time favorite, but i know just as many others (if not more) who push it down and describe it as ishiguro’s weakest. i fall into the former (obviously, with the 5 star rating), but i still think there are many noticeable flaws in this novel; it’s not unfair to call 

 underdeveloped.... perhaps not as complex as what you'd find elsewhere with ishiguro 

my love for klara does, admittedly, come from a source of significant personal bias: klara’s interest in humanity and family and her relationship with josie often reminds me of paddington, which in turn reminds me of my mom. i also personally resonate with the themes and beliefs in this book, which keep me coming back. empathy, grief, solitude, and the beauty of the human soul are all things i look for in a book; since this is the core of the whole narrative and klara as a character, i think this book really just.... defines me. as a person

regarding genre: there are dystopian qualities to 

, but i would argue this is moreso a celebration of humanity than it is a cautionary tale. the "dystopian" traits in this book moreso center around the setting and time, and what's implied in terms of how we get there as a species. klara's place in the world (especially her place in josie's family) is that of a warm hug

and of course, the question that’s always asked in an ishiguro novel that isn’t mentioned much here: is klara an unreliable narrator? she’s certainly more transparent than some of ishiguro’s other protagonists like ryder or banks, but i would say an argument can still be made for the gaps in her narration. i’ll try to pay more attention to this in my next reread

smile??

“perhaps all humans are lonely. at least potentially”

ishiguro at his most accessible

klara often holds hands with ishiguro’s other novel never let me go in terms of their themes and questions (what does it mean to be human? to have a heart, or a soul?), but what i love about klara is that her story leans into the innocence and faith within her character. we learn not just what it means to be human, but about loneliness, and empathy, and how we can find love and beauty anywhere as long as we have the eyes to find it

i’m fascinated by the polarizing reactions to klara and the sun. i know many people who love this novel and lift it up as their all-time favorite, but i know just as many others (if not more) who push it down and describe it as ishiguro’s weakest. i fall into the former (obviously, with the 5 star rating), but i still think there are many noticeable flaws in this novel; it’s not unfair to call klara and the sun underdeveloped.... perhaps not as complex as what you'd find elsewhere with ishiguro 

my love for klara does, admittedly, come from a source of significant personal bias: klara’s interest in humanity and family and her relationship with josie often reminds me of paddington, which in turn reminds me of my mom. i also personally resonate with the themes and beliefs in this book, which keep me coming back. empathy, grief, solitude, and the beauty of the human soul are all things i look for in a book; since this is the core of the whole narrative and klara as a character, i think this book really just.... defines me. as a person

regarding genre: there are dystopian qualities to klara and the sun, but i would argue this is moreso a celebration of humanity than it is a cautionary tale. the "dystopian" traits in this book moreso center around the setting and time, and what's implied in terms of how we get there as a species. klara's place in the world (especially her place in josie's family) is that of a warm hug

and of course, the question that’s always asked in an ishiguro novel that isn’t mentioned much here: is klara an unreliable narrator? she’s certainly more transparent than some of ishiguro’s other protagonists like ryder or banks, but i would say an argument can still be made for the gaps in her narration. i’ll try to pay more attention to this in my next reread

A very timely story to read with the surge of AI in present day. At times it was hard to fully understand what was going on, but that very much felt by design. I found myself feeling genuinely sad for Klara at times; full well knowing that at the end of the day, she was just an Artificial Friend. 

Elyse 

The ending did it for me. Beautiful writing, and can’t wait to see the film. 

Ani Velasquez

Simple language but boy did it engage. I had difficulty putting it down. Seemingly straightforward story but I’m sure I’ll be mulling over some aspects of it for a long time to come. Definitely one of the greats of our time.

Klara and the Sun A Novel

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