Kazuo Ishiguro – 4/5 Stars
Read this if you:
· believe in the healing power of the sun
· enjoy dystopian novels but want something not so bleak
· love a heartwarming story of friendship
Synopsis:
After a long wait, Klara, an Artificial Friend, finally has a human come into the store and choose her to take home. She spends the coming years serving Josie and her family, even agreeing to her mother’s unconventional plan when Josie falls ill. Klara believes in the power of the Sun and takes matters into her own hands to try to save her friend.
My thoughts on the book:
This book felt as though it was in two parts. I enjoyed the first half, reading about Josie and Klara’s growing friendship and how well Klara fit into the lives of Josie and her family members. In the second half of the book, things took a but of a strange turn. The world felt more dystopian, almost unnecessarily, and I was left feeling confused about how things could change so starkly. I did enjoy this part of the book, but it took some time to readjust to this new story line.
I enjoyed this book but felt as though it left me with so many unanswered questions. While it did allude to Josie being “lifted” and what that might mean, why was Josie actually sick? What happened to Rick and his quest to be an engineer? What did Rick’s mom actually see happen out the window with Josie’s mom? Does the Sun actually have healing powers? How did Klara end up where she was a the end of the book? All things that are currently keeping me up at night, if anyone wants to share any insight!