Klara and the Sun

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have loved Ishiguro books in the past (even the one set in the Dark Ages), but this one felt like homework.

He's known for experimenting with different genres. I think this one falls into the dystopian YA fiction category. Maybe you don't like this genre?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked it but I wish there had been less about the sun (which yes Klara, as a solar powered machine, has gone to see as a type of God) and more about the world they lived in. More about the genetic engineering, more about the sister, more about the father and the substitutions, and especially more about the “portraitist” and his crazy scheme and if/how it worked for other clients.

The hey art about the sun was so long and boring. The rest was incredibly interesting but he hardly explored it.

I really agree. I listened to the audiobook and I think it was a mix of totally brilliant and totally unfulfilling. I keep struggling to put into words exactly what I found unfulfilling.

SPOILERS:::::

++++




Just for some big one: Why did the father go along with the plan to ruin that machine? Was she going to fade out whether they took out some liquid or not?

I think he knew it was a crazy idea to kill a cooting machine with the precious liquid from Klara's body sounds almost like a sacrifice to keep Josie alive. So in a way, he, as a grieving father, became a part of Klara's religion. He needed any kind of hope.

I think the opposite, that he was opposed to reliance on technology and helped Klara because he wanted her to weaken/go away. Under the guise of helping her, it was an easy way to get her gone. And the machine, too: a bonus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the book, and I thought it circled back to the themes that made Never Let Me Go so poignant (but I still thought Never Let Me Go was better) Are there ethical implications when we use AI as a means to an end? Who are the true winners and losers in a hypercompetitive capitalist economy. I wish he explored the genetic engineering process more fully because I think it was an interesting plot point that just came in at the end.
I would watch a movie adaptation of it as I think it could be done very well with the right production and actors.

This really, really makes me want to read it, but I tried to read "The Unconsoled" by Ishiguro many years ago after reading "When We Were Orphans" and I am wary. The Unconsoled is a scar. But Never Let Me Go is a complete masterpiece.

Never Let me Go is my favorite book ever and I loved Klara and the Sun. It is perhaps more optimistic than Never Let me Go. Now I want to go back and re-read Never Let Me Go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the book, and I thought it circled back to the themes that made Never Let Me Go so poignant (but I still thought Never Let Me Go was better) Are there ethical implications when we use AI as a means to an end? Who are the true winners and losers in a hypercompetitive capitalist economy. I wish he explored the genetic engineering process more fully because I think it was an interesting plot point that just came in at the end.
I would watch a movie adaptation of it as I think it could be done very well with the right production and actors.

This really, really makes me want to read it, but I tried to read "The Unconsoled" by Ishiguro many years ago after reading "When We Were Orphans" and I am wary. The Unconsoled is a scar. But Never Let Me Go is a complete masterpiece.

Never Let me Go is my favorite book ever and I loved Klara and the Sun. It is perhaps more optimistic than Never Let me Go. Now I want to go back and re-read Never Let Me Go.

The Unconsoled was the only one I have ever finished by him. And at the end of it my only thought was "I get it, I am now the unconsoled, because that book was a struggle and completely unconsoling"

[Anonymous]

I loved the book and excited about the movie. The casting choices look solid to me.

As production is about to begin on 3000 pictures’ adaptation of Klara and the Sun directed by Oscar winner Taika Waititi, Natasha Lyonne and Simon Baker have rounded out the cast, with Jenna Ortega playing the titular character. Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams, Mia Tharia and Aran Murphy also star in the film.

https://deadline.com/2024/02/natasha-lyonne-simon-baker-klara-and-the-sun-1235832391/?fbclid=IwAR2yJgIW3SvWZ8cv7hCP2s86zILepuqIMx6b8lLP1sN4HQX9igwRaoVVlVI#recipient_hashed=dc3fb3ff12517ec9dbceeda132953ef89f5343be94bf572c2496753f55af09ee&recipient_salt=edea88b4aa5b409c027b177e2cd1a7bfa79fdef5f9832101434508bb6c11e571

[Anonymous]

Jenna Ortega is well cast.

I loved the book. It’s a fascinating perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I loved the book and excited about the movie. The casting choices look solid to me.

As production is about to begin on 3000 pictures’ adaptation of Klara and the Sun directed by Oscar winner Taika Waititi, Natasha Lyonne and Simon Baker have rounded out the cast, with Jenna Ortega playing the titular character. Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams, Mia Tharia and Aran Murphy also star in the film.

https://deadline.com/2024/02/natasha-lyonne-simon-baker-klara-and-the-sun-1235832391/?fbclid=IwAR2yJgIW3SvWZ8cv7hCP2s86zILepuqIMx6b8lLP1sN4HQX9igwRaoVVlVI#recipient_hashed=dc3fb3ff12517ec9dbceeda132953ef89f5343be94bf572c2496753f55af09ee&recipient_salt=edea88b4aa5b409c027b177e2cd1a7bfa79fdef5f9832101434508bb6c11e571

Wow that is quite a cast

[Anonymous]

I really liked this book as well, though I agree iwth some PPs in that I wish some aspects of the story were more fleshed out. However I see the point of some commentary I read online, that Ishiguro isn't in the business of fantasy world-building but just wanted to explore themes of humanity, friendship etc.

Very excited to learn there is a planned film, I hadn't heard that before seeing this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really liked this book as well, though I agree iwth some PPs in that I wish some aspects of the story were more fleshed out. However I see the point of some commentary I read online, that Ishiguro isn't in the business of fantasy world-building but just wanted to explore themes of humanity, friendship etc.

Very excited to learn there is a planned film, I hadn't heard that before seeing this thread.

Ishiguro is one of those who make me questioning humanity.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed it but it has not stuck with me the way Never Let Me Go does. I think Klara's much more limited understanding and awareness is an interesting literary device (I liked how much of the book kind of reveals itself as you go -- he leaves a lot unexplained so that you can uncover it along with Klara, which was an enjoyable experience), but it made for a less emotionally rich reading experience.

In a way this reveals what I think is a major ethical difference between human cloning and AI. A human clone is a human. They have a human experience. AI, even if sentient and feeling, is not human. So where the ethical issues in Never Let Me Go were extremely immediate and poignant to me, I felt they were less obvious in Klara and the Sun. Yes I felt sad for Klara at parts in the book, but I don't think she experienced even the worst parts of her experience with a depth of sadness that made me think "this is wrong." Even at the end, I felt like I felt worse for Klara at having been discarded than she felt for herself. Her emotional range as AI was so much more limited and just not human.

But the fact that I can even draw these comparisons and think of these characters as real in this way is a testament to Ishiguro, who I truly do think is a genius. I also loved Remains of the Day, I think I might want to reread it because it's been so long. I never attempted any of his other books but now I'm interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really liked this book as well, though I agree iwth some PPs in that I wish some aspects of the story were more fleshed out. However I see the point of some commentary I read online, that Ishiguro isn't in the business of fantasy world-building but just wanted to explore themes of humanity, friendship etc.

Very excited to learn there is a planned film, I hadn't heard that before seeing this thread.

To that I'd say why do it at all then? Or at least to the extent that he did in this book.