Is there a better way to write a novel about what it means to be human than to write a novel from the perspective of a solar-powered, artificially-intelligent doll? Kazuo Ishiguro doesn’t seem to think so, and after reading Klara and the Sun, I am inclined to agree.

In his first novel since winning the Nobel Prize in literature, Ishiguro has written a masterpiece that will simultaneously warm and break your heart. Klara and the Sun is the story of the titular Klara, an “AF” (“artificial friend”) belonging to a sick teenager called Josie. Told from Klara’s perspective, the reader is given a wonderfully innocent and completely unique perspective on the dystopian world Ishiguro has crafted to tell what is in the end a simple story of life, love and faith.

I do not wish to divulge too much to you about the plot of this book, not because it is complicated or full of surprising twists and turns, but because I simply couldn’t convey any of it as well as Ishiguro, or rather, Klara does over the course of the novel. You will care for Klara, just as she cares so deeply for her owner, and you will be thinking about her long after you finish reading, as I am sure I will for years to come.

It is easy to see why they gave this guy a Nobel prize, I cannot recommend this book more to anyone who is a fan of plain old good fiction, and excellent writing.

***** 5/5 stars