Cornelsen Senior English Library - Literatur - Ab 11. Schuljahr: Klara and the Sun - Textband

Die Geschichte ist faszinierend und sehr atmosphärisch, obwohl manche Teile etwas zu langsam angelegt sind. Insgesamt empfehlenswert für alle, die an tiefgründige Erzählungen interessiert sind.

Toll!

A strange kind of dystopian novel that only hints at the flaws in the society it portrays through the eyes of the "artificial friend" Klara, whose understanding of the world around her is partial and fragmented, limited by the constraints of her technology - and who is, in some ways, more human than the human characters she interacts with. Not an easy read but well worth it.

The author explores the human condition from the vantage point of a robot. This plot device leads naturally to the exploration of what makes us human. And while the robot observes the humans, we humans observe the robot, and we are left to draw our own conclusions.

“Klara and the Sun” takes a theme that goes back to “Frankenstein” and probably further - the boundaries between human-made and human.The story is set in the not-too-distant future, narrated by Klara, an “Artificial Friend” bought as a companion for an ill teenager, Josie. Klara narrates the story, and her convincing, naiive, optimistic and endearing voice is very well-written. It is also interesting to see that the story pre-empts lockdown in some ways, for example, teenagers are brought together for “interaction” meetings to learn to socialise.Klara is solar-powered, adding an interesting environmental element, and the subject of genetic manipulation is also a theme, with the “lifting” of young people as a socially-desirable medical procedure in this future world.The story is easy to read and has a YA feel about it. It’s a bit vague on areas you’d like to know more about (such as the “lifting”), and too precise and detailed on things you have little interest in - but, of course, that is inevitable given the nature of the narrator. I found some aspects a little repetitive, such as when Klara’s vision goes a bit haywire under stress.The ending is very moving, and it brought to mind the wonderful 2002 IKEA commercial from Spike Jonze about a lamp. I’ll say no more.