Klara and the Sun

by Kazuo Ishiguro

Klara, the android protagonist, is a thinking, feeling, being, and seeing the world from her naïve POV is both beautiful and sobering. The world is an uninspiring future USA, where people are genetically modified to be a superior race. Only tantalising details of this world are given, which would usually frustrate me, but because Ishiguro is such a superb writer, it made the book even more engaging. As well as a damned good story, this novel is many things: an imagining of what lies ahead, a quiet social critique, a meditation on what humans will do to avoid what Klara identifies as their greatest fear—loneliness. Interestingly, devoid of her own insecurities, ambition and attachments, Klara’s love is shown to be the purest, most generous and compassionate. A teaching for us all. The book is brilliant, and left me full of thoughts, questions and emotions which will echo for a long time.