tippy bottom reviewed 克拉拉与太阳 by Kazuo Ishiguro
Review of '克拉拉与太阳' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
bitter sweet goodness
Hardcover, 392 pages
Chinese language
Published Feb. 28, 2021 by 上海译文出版社.
克拉拉是一个专为陪伴儿童而设计的太阳能人工智能机器人(AF),具有极高的观察、推理与共情能力。她坐在商店展示橱窗里,注视着街头路人以及前来浏览橱窗的孩子们的一举一动。她始终期待着很快就会有人挑中她,不过,当这种永久改变境遇的可能性出现时,克拉拉却被提醒不要过分相信人类的诺言。
在《克拉拉与太阳》这部作品中,石黑一雄通过一位令人难忘的叙述者的视角,观察千变万化的现代社会,探索了一个根本性的问题:究竟什么是爱?
bitter sweet goodness
Just like Never Let Me Go, Ishiguru builds a world that is slightly off-kilter: you recognise so much but there is something you cannot put your finger on. It is that tension that keeps the interest, keeps the pages going. it is a mystery but always a human mystery.
And like Never Let Me Go, the book was exploring what it means to be human, to love, to sacrifice. But this time he gives us a happy ending.
There is nothing wrong with this book. It has an interesting premise, is well written and I enjoyed it. The problem is that it is Ishiguro and so my expectations were high. This is not the beautiful writing he is capable of, nor does it have the insights into the human condition I've come to expect.
If you are an Ishiguro fan you have a dilemma; this is part of his oeuvre but it isn't all that good. Still, worth reading.
I know Ishiguro is award-winning and held in high regard, and this puts me off sometimes. I enjoy a lot of lesser-known or not yet recognised authors. But sometimes, you want something other people have enjoyed.
This was very meaningful, plenty of deep symbolism and Klara as a narrator is almost painfully naive at times. This is more often sweet than anything else though, and it’s a fascinating, if narrow, glimpse into what almost feels like a post-pandemic society: one gets the impression the apocalypse has come and it was clever science that saved the day, only to fragment Humanity further in the long term.
Would I read it again? Perhaps, if I came across it. I didn’t feel so engaged that I couldn’t put it down, and yet part of me wonders as to how much nuance and subtext I missed. I was never bored, and although Klara’s efforts …
I know Ishiguro is award-winning and held in high regard, and this puts me off sometimes. I enjoy a lot of lesser-known or not yet recognised authors. But sometimes, you want something other people have enjoyed.
This was very meaningful, plenty of deep symbolism and Klara as a narrator is almost painfully naive at times. This is more often sweet than anything else though, and it’s a fascinating, if narrow, glimpse into what almost feels like a post-pandemic society: one gets the impression the apocalypse has come and it was clever science that saved the day, only to fragment Humanity further in the long term.
Would I read it again? Perhaps, if I came across it. I didn’t feel so engaged that I couldn’t put it down, and yet part of me wonders as to how much nuance and subtext I missed. I was never bored, and although Klara’s efforts almost feel fatalistic and pointless, I enjoyed her depth of observance enough that I wanted to finish.
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
https://www.ebooks.com/en-nl/book/210056550/klara-and-the-sun/kazuo-ishiguro/
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.https://www.ebooks.com/en-nl/book/210056550/klara-and-the-sun/kazuo-ishiguro/
.https://audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/klara-and-the-sun.aspx
.https://audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/klara-and-the-sun.aspx
.https://www.ebooks.com/en-nl/book/210056550/klara-and-the-sun/kazuo-ishiguro/
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