Tournament of Books discussion

space to discuss TOB 2022 contender "Klara and the Sun" by Kazuo Ishiguro

I guess we’re all talked out on this one after the summer TOB? My book club also read this one back in December, so I’m doubly talked out. I will say I enjoyed this novel and found it thought-provoking, though it’s far from Ishiguro’s best (in my opinion).

I read this back in April or May, so it's not as fresh in my mind, but I did like how he tried to illustrate how an artificial intelligence would see the world (the boxes, the light and dark). Klara was, much like many of his other protagonists, very naive in many ways... in some ways it definitely felt like a retread of themes he'd touched on before. (I skipped The Buried Giant - is that one worth reading?)

I just couldn't get invested in this one, even as the writing was often quite beautiful. But for me it was the definition of a "meh" book. Very easy to put down, very tough to pick up again.

This would have been good if it had been written by somebody else. But I hold Ishiguro to a higher standard. It just wasn’t one of his best, although I enjoyed it.

Kyle wrote: "I read this back in April or May, so it's not as fresh in my mind, but I did like how he tried to illustrate how an artificial intelligence would see the world (the boxes, the light and dark). Klar..."

I loved The Buried Giant, but it is a story that meanders and it takes place in an Arthurian fantasy world. I say, read the first 50 pages and see how you feel? I also listened to it and enjoyed the audio.

This book started off so good for me and then left me feeling such disappointment. I did not like the direction it went in. I felt teased and let down. But I loved the concept and the first half so much that I'll probably give it 3.5 stars.