Thank you for your review. I too was split on this book. On the one hand there are some wonderful themes: selfhood; what we accept; love; social injustice; where will technology take us; and sentience. However, I find the characterization lacking. One character sounded like another and even like a character in another book he wrote. It is very layered and this could have been deliberate. All in all I liked what I got from the book rather than the activity of reading it.

Thanks for the shout out! You crushed this review. Totally in sync on this one.

where is the podcast that explores the religion aspect of this book?

I appreciated the read book A or B instead based on your interests at the end of this review. I’ve refrained from reading Klara and the Sun because I couldn’t click with the writing in Never Let Me Go. I loved The Employees.

Spot on! I also appreciated this novel for the atmosphere and the emotional landscape. But for some of the big themes explored, like what it means to be the "same person who you used to be", I think the novel comes a little too close to offering easy answers or getting towards a conclusive message, when it might be better just left to the reader to ponder. (I still think Ishiguro does a pretty good job encouraging his readers to think about these themes; it just doesn't always feel totally on the mark to me here).

You really explained this clearly - Incidentally in some cases in literature the sun represents a god of sorts cf the story of Icarus and Moliere's Dom Juan - however these defied the sun and suffered. Klara follows and obeys

Nice review. I enjoyed this one, but as an Ishiguro fan I'd have to say it's quite a step down from his best work. In interviews, Ishiguro has mentioned that he originally conceived the book as a children's story, and that it was his daughter Naomi (who is herself now a published novelist) who discouraged him from going down that route. He has also said that the book is very loosely set in the same universe as 'Never Let Me Go', though there is no explicit overlap. I'm a big fan of the Employees and agree with your comments. It's somewhat harder to access than Klara, which as you noted is a very accessible read, but a very thought provoking reading experience nevertheless.

I picked up this book for the booker boy discord read and I'm.... nervous based on Kieran and your review haha. I feel like I should just read Never Let Me Go 😂

I thought klara was incredibly meh, didn't really do anything for me but i always enjoying watching your reviews, always very thoughtful

#amwf

I am so glad you thought The Employees and Life of Pi worked better. I completely agree. I liked Klara and the Sun but only in a sort of OK way.

If you enter this reading with predjuices you won't get the message, maybe it was not a book made for you sweetie

Bad review