Kazuo Ishiguro's "KLARA AND THE SUN"
Book review by Dennis D. McDonald
When I started reading KLARA AND THE SUN I admit to being somewhat annoyed and put off. I’ve read a lot of science fiction over the decades. At first the book seems to be a rehash of many other tales of artificial intelligence, robots, and what it means to be human.
The more I read, though, I began seeing KLARA as a more insightful alternate history tale told from the perspective of Klara, the “artificial friend (AF).“
While there are many elements of current society and science fiction touched on (for example, genetic editing, fear of AI, drone technology, memory and personality transfer, etc.) these are not really the primary focus. We see events from the perspective of the AF Klara unfold over time and interpreted through her very limited view of the world. Klara is fascinating to observe as she grows and develops insights into how people and the world work. She is a true “learning AI“ and the book traces her evolution as she develops increasingly complex relationships with and understandings of the human world.
The ending is not too surprising to anyone who has read a lot of contemplative sci-fi or who appreciates thoughtful movies like Spielberg‘s AI: artificial intelligence. But this is a very good read and I am very glad I stuck with it.
Review copyright (c) 2021 by Dennis D. McDonald