Klara and the Sun in Do Better: SFF without Sexual Violence

Aug 13, 2021 Beige rated it liked it

Shelves: zread-lit-21st, zread-1-scifi, zz-colour

This had so many elements that tick my bookish boxes: the experiences of artificial intelligence and their impact on society, simple prose and painterly oberservations. But overall, my experience was mixed. I absolutely adored Part 1 and thought I had another 5 star read on my hands. However, once Klara entered an even more isolated environment, at times I felt what Klara could not, boredom. I suspect Ishiguro's particular style of "restraint" might not be for me.
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May 07, 2022 Kaa rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: sffbc-ratb, group-buddy-reads

Hmm. This was a quick read, and I liked it at the start, but as it went on I found it increasingly frustrating.

Positives:
Ishiguro's writing
Klara's POV, especially at the beginning

Things that didn't work:
The entire plotline related to the Sun
Too many ideas going on at once, so that there was a lot left unexplained or insufficiently explained. The sci-fi elements in particular were either confusing or unconvincing. ...more

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Jul 10, 2021 Kristenelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021-novels

I loved this! I'm still kind of processing though and am not totally sure how to rate it.

The writing is beautiful and immersive. The perspective is from an AF who we eventually learn is an artificial friend. Because of her limited perspective we learn about the world slowly and simply. This invites theorizing from the very beginning which I found really fun. In the end I still had some questions, but I didn't really mind.

There are Themes, but I'd rather not get into them here. It is better to ...more

6 likes · Like · see review