Family | Book Chatter

Hello, friends! Most of my mornings start off with coffee and a walk. Occasionally I have to wait until it warms up a bit. If it’s below 52 degrees then the pup doesn’t want to go. Lately, the mornings have been quite brisk so she has needed a little encouragement to get out the door. We always take a different path. Sometimes up a hill, sometimes around the school. Sometimes wherever her nose takes us. Today it was just around the neighborhood.

The Neighborhood

I never took advantage of morning walks before the pandemic. Sure, I was physically on-campus and not tooling around the neighborhood but my campus is a pretty pleasant place to get your steps in. I hope to continue my morning walks once we return to campus.

The weeks keep ticking on by, don’t they? I went to the mall for the first time in a year. I had to get my favorite candle and our new coffee maker melted so we had to get another one. I was in and out because I felt so closed-in and overwhelmed. It was right before Valentine’s Day so there were quite a few people shopping. They all looked so normal. Like they didn’t have a care in the world but so many of the shops have gone out of business so there was this dark cloud looming over the place. Every restaurant with outdoor dining was bustling. I am happy for them. I worry about spread but I also want them to stay open and for their employees to be able to make a living.

I got my Capri Blue candle though. Anything to make the day a little more pleasant.

I am currently reading The Midnight Library and then probably Joshilyn Jackson’s new one, Mother May I. My next two book club reads are books I’ve already read so that frees me up to read other books. Doing well with my review copies too. So many good reads coming out.

How are you all doing? There’s talk of schools opening back up again, at least at the K-5 level. I don’t see how that can happen until the teachers and staff are vaccinated but it’s a hot button topic here for sure. I would just like to know if ANY plans will be made for high school graduation. Even if it’s a drive by like last year. With a high school senior and the other one graduating from university, I need to know if there will be any conflicts.

Anyway, that’s it from me. Check in if you can.

Klara and the Sun
By Kazuo Ishiguro
Knopf, 9780593318171, March 2021, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Love, loneliness and loyalty are front and center in this story about friendship.

The Rest of It:

Klara spends her days at the store, rotating positions with others. Some days she is in the shop window and able to watch the busy people rushing past the shop, interacting with others and living their lives. Other days, she is moved to the back of the store. On these days, her only view is that of others in the store and she can’t help but yearn for more hours in the window. Hours where she can feel the sun’s warmth and personally experience its rejuvenating effect.

Klara is an AF, an Artificial Friend. Although there are newer models with more advanced features than what she can offer, Klara is spotted by Josie, a young girl and instantly, Josie is sure that Klara is the AF for her, but the two do not meet at that moment. The mother needs more convincing and so Klara, although hopeful to find a new home, is moved to the back of the store again.

Months pass and Klara has all but given up hope, but then there she is, Josie. Klara’s heart is bursting at the sight of her but she can’t help but notice that Josie doesn’t look well. So as Klara is taken to Josie’s home, she quickly realizes that Josie is a special girl and that not only will she be Josie’s best friend, she will also be the one to notice her rapid decline in health and be the one to do something about it.

What a story. It’s a little weird and sad and somehow manages to hit on all the things we are feeling now. Disappointment, loneliness, isolation, hope. What does it mean to be a friend to someone? How can you love a person when you are in fact a machine? What happens when your purpose conflicts with your heart?

You might think that it will be difficult to feel much while reading this story about what is essentially a robot but think twice. Remember that episode of the Twilight Zone, Sing the Body Electric? Bradbury wrote the script and it later became a story with the same name. Anyway, I felt all the emotions while watching that episode and I felt the same way here. Ishiguro presents an AF who is almost too human and I loved her. I loved her gentle observations and her willingness to sacrifice herself when needed. Truthfully, I am a little sad now as I just turned the last page not long ago. This story will sit with me for a long while.

If you are wondering about the title, it’s all explained in the story and probably represents many things but I will keep my thoughts to myself so that you can consider the meaning yourself.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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