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diff --git a/content/books/klara-and-the-sun.md b/content/books/klara-and-the-sun.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b4f40f3 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/books/klara-and-the-sun.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ ++++ +date = '2025-07-27T10:49:23+02:00' +draft = false +title = 'Klara and the Sun' ++++ + + + +_Klara and the Sun_ is a novel written by Kazuo Ishiguro. +Set in a far dystopian future, it tells a story about the relationship between Josie, a home schooled, genetically modified child and Klara, an artificial friend (AF) and companion to Josie. +It's a remarkable tale that tries to answer some of the most important questions we often ask ourselves: +_What makes us human?_, _What does it mean to be human?_ +We encounter multiple themes throughout the book, but there are two which I would like to write about. + +The book starts with Klara standing in the middle of the store where AF's are sold. +She is an android-like product designed to provide company to real human children, and the narrator of the book. +Curious, observant, and intelligent, Klara tries to learn as much as she can about the world around her: +_Unlike most AFs, unlike Rosa, I’d always longed to see more of the outside – and to see it in all its detail._ + +Josie is a pale and thin girl, fourteen years old and very intelligent. +In the future, most children are home schooled and genetically modified to be smarter. +However, this sometimes comes at the cost of their health - Josie is suffering from an unknown illness, which could be fatal. +In the store she specifically picks Klara to be her personal AF. +_Know what? Your friend will make a perfect friend for someone out there. But yesterday, we were driving by and I saw you, and I thought that’s her, the AF I’ve been looking for!_ + +Once Klara finally moves in to live with Josie, we learn that not everyone in the household appreciates Klara's presence. +Melania, the housekeeper, is opposing from the start, and treats Klara with suspicion and hostility: +_[...] but then Melania Housekeeper came between us, and before I was fully aware, had taken Josie’s arm, tucking it under her own_. +Moreover, Josie's best friend Rick doesn't like Klara either. _'Rick, this is Klara.' Rick went on concentrating on his remote and didn’t look my way.'You said you’d never get an AF,' he said._ +However, with time Klara becomes a part of the family. +Rick sympathizes with her during the party at Josie's house, and Melania entrusts her with taking care of Josie during the trip to the city. +Although an artificial being, Klara soon becomes as important as Josie herself. +This made me wonder: _How easily do we allow technology to enter our daily lives?_ +I really liked this part of the book, because it relates a lot to my work field. +Computer systems are becoming increasingly ubiquitous, and I think it is worth to stop and think how much online systems take from our daily lives. + +Klara relies on the energy from the Sun to function - being in the light re-charges her batteries. +As a result, she treats the Sun like a deity, and believes it nourishes and takes care of everyone around her. +_I could understand that for all his kindness, the Sun was very busy; that there were many people besides Josie who required his attention._ +This is a recurring theme throughout the book, with Klara's unwavering faith displayed through her brave actions to help Josie get better. +However, this gives rise to the questions: _What does it mean for an android to believe in a god?_, _Can an artificial robot believe in a god in the first place?_ +Towards the end of the book we learn Klara's true purpose - to replace Josie in an event of her death. +Mr. Capaldi, who is preparing an android body resembling Josie, argues that since there is no soul, Klara not only can replace Josie, but she can fully _become_ her. +I particularly like the contrast between Klara's faith in the Sun's nourishment and the agnostic approach of Mr. Capaldi. +It's a paradox which makes the reader question the nature of faith itself. + +Overall, I really liked the book, and I hope Kazuo Ishiguro will continue to write novels as great as _Klara and the Sun_. + |