I have not read many of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels, and I really should rectify this because his novels are so engrossing and beautifully written. But I am also a little reluctant to read Ishiguro’s novels because the ones that I have read end up making me feel depressed. If you have read Never Let Me Go, you may know what I am talking about. I absolutely love that novel, but I do not think I could ever read it again because it is so heartbreaking. Klara and the Sun is much easier to read, but the ending still left me feeling sad for the sweet, little android at the heart of this novel.

Klara and the Sun is about an AF (“Artificial Friend”) named Klara. AFs are androids designed to be companions for teenagers. The novel is set in the near future where some children no longer go to school but take individual college-level courses online. The AFs keep these children from feeling lonely. Klara is purchased as a companion for a fourteen-year-old girl named Josie. Josie has an unidentified illness that is likely to be the cause of her death one day, an illness that is eventually revealed to Klara, and the reader, to be an accidental side effect of being “lifted” ie. genetically altered to increase her academic performance so that she can go to the best university and pretty much be guaranteed to live a good life.

Klara is devoted to Josie, even if Josie is not always nice to her, and the novel is essentially about Klara’s quest to help cure Josie of her illness. Klara believes that it is the Sun that can help Josie. The Sun is a deity that Klara puts all her faith into because it provides “special nourishment” (Klara is solar powered). But when the Sun’s special nourishment does not seem to be helping Josie get better, Klara realizes that she must offer the Sun something in exchange for the Sun curing Josie.

I find that androids are usually portrayed in popular culture as sinister and likely to bring about the downfall of humanity. After growing up watching the Terminator movies, I have a serious skepticism of the necessity of androids. But I absolutely loved Klara. She is selfless and genuinely devoted to Josie. She is also observant and intelligent; even though she is narrating the story, Klara is much more aware of what is going on than the reader is, such as the actual reason why Josie’s mother purchased her to be a companion to her daughter. But there is nothing threatening about Klara’s intelligence or her devotion to Josie. Even though Klara’s plan to get the Sun to cure Josie is strange, the reader can understand Klara’s logic in hoping the Sun will help. And Klara is not so subservient that she mindlessly follows orders, especially by those who would abuse her; but she is not angry or vengeful either.

Klara is the being that all human beings should strive to be as she understands more about love than most people do. Klara and the Sun makes me wonder if it is possible to create androids with such love for humans, and if so, do we even deserve them? I do not want to spoil the ending of the novel for anyone, but Klara’s fate, as sad as it made me feel, was not surprising. The future in Klara and the Sun is somewhat dystopic, although things are not completely different from as they are now (people still drive cars), so it is amazing that humans would even be capable of creating an android who is so observant and empathetic, and not so amazing that humans would turn on them when they think androids have gotten “too clever”. It is just another example of how selfish and prejudiced human beings can be.

I highly recommend Klara and the Sun. I find the plot is somewhat simple, but it really is an engaging read. I challenge you to not fall in love with Klara yourself by the time you finish reading this novel.