I am blaming myself for not enjoying this book more. And I am greatly in the minority Although it is a glum book that is not the reason why. I am not sure what the reason is because I am a great fan of NEVER LET ME GO and REMAINS OF THE DAY.
It shares a lot of DNA with NLMG. They are both set in the future and deal with the sacrifices some make for others. In this case, Klara is an AF. Artificial friends are mostly purchased for teenagers, to help them through those early difficult years 12-15. Klara is an especially intuitive AF and is purchased for a girl who suffers from an unnamed illness. Her mother is dubious about Klara at first but comes to rely on her advice and help. Klara turned out to be the character I most understood in the book. The humans were far more opaque. Of course, the story is told from her point of view, which always makes a character more sympathetic.
Klara doesn't see the world quite as we do nor does she understand a lot of what she sees. She invests the sun, for instance, with mystical powers.
Do you ever go back and reread a book that you didn't much care for at first and find your opinion changed? This has happened with books I read in high school and college. Books that were forced on me.
For more First Wednesday book reviews, see Barrie Summy.
7 comments:
It's certainly an interesting premise! Sometimes I'll return to a book and read it after listening to it wasn't working for me. And I have given books a second chance if I think I was interrupted too many times or something. But, mostly, I'm overwhelmed by my TBR pile. Thanks for reviewing! I'm going to try this book.
I have done it, but not often. That reminds me of when we first saw A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC on Broadway. We saw it with a friend who kept making noises and derogatory comments all through it, and put a real damper on the show. Next time we saw it alone and appreciated it much more.
The premise does sound fairly interesting to me, but I think I'll pass.
I put a hold on this book a while back at my library but keep "delaying" delivery for one reason or another. It's one I want to read but not necessarily on a priority basis.
Thanks for reviewing.
This is one weird premise. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
A number of critics and reviewers, pro and hobbyist, I've read have suggested this one doesn't work as well as most of the Ishiguro they've read; you're not alone.
I haven't reread too many novels I didn't care for, but have been known to revisit short fiction and essays and find more virtue than I had! Assignment was a good way to get me to not read a book, to be sure.
How disappointing! I too loved Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go and was intrigued about his latest. Maybe he set the bar to high by writing two classics? Thanks for your thoughtful review!
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