Klara and the Sun

Klara is an AF (artificial friend), and is not described other than later in the book when those around have grown larger and Klara has not. I picture an AF as 4 feet (1.3 meters) tall and living somewhere in the uncanny valley. We may see a film version soon.

Physical description is the easy part. Klara is the main character, described as very observant - a trait which is important later in the book. While an AF can be a competent tutor, this one also has some interesting ideas about the sun. This robot neurosis is a feature of the book, and part of the title. I won't go into further details to avoid spoilers.

The various humans described in the book are from Klara's perspective. This can give a one dimensional aspect, but this may be the author's intent. The exception is Josie, the recipient of this particular AF. The reader can look between the lines to come to other interpretations. I wonder about Melania housekeeper, for example - did Klara stop something nefarious there?

I liked this book more than Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. They have some similarities - the main characters and narrators of both are "not human". The science of both is left very soft for SF - in the case of this book, "lifting" which apparently results in smarter kids, with a chance of drastic failure. From Klara's perspective, we don't get a comparison of how a "lifted" kid is better than one without.

Read this as part of an online bookclub. Looking forward to hear other perspectives.