Klara and the Sun

This was an interesting read and given that I have not read any of the author's other works, I was not quite sure what I was getting into. (Though, I have watched Remains Of The Day)

This book felt simple and yet complex. The simplicity was in the narrator: an AI or artificial friend who seems a bit naive and limited to her programming being a friend with a sick child. The complexity was in everything surrounding the two of them that wasn't said or maybe not said too loudly.

It is scifi and post apocalyptic, but you would not know it first delving into the story. Klara is a unique narrator but unreliable for such interesting times. Her unique view of the world drives the narrative most of the time.

The uses of faith, family, culture, society, technology and relationships really fleshes out the story and gives the quiet parts more weight.

Maybe I'll try another book by this author. I really enjoyed this.

• I listened to this as an audiobook, my first checked out from Libby.
• I liked the narrator's voice and felt it was generally quite well to meet the range of voices for the characters.
• The book took too long to build up and the ending was too abstract and fell apart.
• I also generally didn't like or understand why the characters were selected with the traits they had.
• Some of the dialogue felt well played, while others felt jarring
• In the end, my favorite part is Klara's relationship with the sun, which goes for the most part unexplored with other characters. This book has vague environmentalist themes.
• many of the tropes that show up in this book I feel, have been better expressed in other works I've read.
• I think this book would be fine for a middle schooler as it goes generally without much complexity with its readability. Though I do think it should be followed with journaling or a book discussion. I would be curious how this book could be used to engage youth about AI ethics.