Key themes
- Love from a non-human perspective — and what it reveals about our own
- The sun as a god and the world-view built on gratitude
- What it means to 'continue' — and whether the original must be preserved
About this book
"Klara and the Sun, the first novel by Kazuo Ishiguro since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, tells the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who,
Published in 2021, Klara and the Sun won the Women's Prize longlist and several other awards. Ishiguro said he was interested in what artificial intelligence might reveal about human consciousness by trying to replicate it.
Discussion questions
- Klara is an Artificial Friend — an android — who narrates the novel. How does Ishiguro make her perspective both alien and deeply moving — and what does her limited understanding reveal about the human world she observes?
- Klara believes in the Sun as a source of nourishment and even grace. What is Ishiguro doing with this religiosity — is it a limitation of her programming, or a form of wisdom that humans have lost?
- The novel's central moral question concerns whether Klara could become Josie — whether a perfect copy is the same person. How does Ishiguro handle this question — and does the novel have a position?
- Klara's love for Josie is total and undemanding. How does this compare to the human relationships in the novel — and what is Ishiguro saying about the nature of love?
- Klara and the Sun appeared shortly before Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize for Literature. How does it fit with Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day — and what question does he return to across his work?
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