Klara and the Sun

Kazuo Ishiguro

First line: “When we were new, Rosa and I were mid-store, on the magazines table side, and could see through more than half of the window.” Last line: “Then she continued to walk away.” What an amazing book! I loved the language, the writing style and the story. From how it all started, with Klara and the others in the store, all trying to get as much nourishment as possible from the limited sun exposure, and the human-like thoughts and reactions they were describing. All through the roller-coaster that is anyone’s life, and also Josie’s, seeing everything described from a perspective of someone who is knowledgeable but also learning at the same time about humans and human experiences. It was a beautiful experience to read and feel what Klara was learning. And it was a strong emotional connection to share with AF:s, the very human innate need for sunshine. Favorite passage: “I stared at the glass sheets. The Sun’s reflection, though still an intense orange, was no longer blinding and as I studied more carefully the Sun’s face framed within the outermost rectangle, I began to appreciate that I wasn’t looking at a single picture; that in fact there existed a different version of the Sun’s face on each of the glass surfaces, and what I might at first have taken for a unified image was in fact seven separate ones superimposed one over the other as my gaze penetrated from the first sheet through to the last.”

Finished reading 29/07