Klara and the Sun

Year
Creator
Country
United Kingdom
Publication Type
Technologies referenced
Description (in English)

The novel is narrated by Klara, an AF or Artificial Friend who is designed to be a companion to a child. She is purchased by Josie, a 14-year-old who like most other children has been “lifted”, which is a genetic modification that augments children’s intelligence. Most children are lifted in this society, and they receive tutoring at home on “oblongs” and need “interaction meetings” with other kids to learn social skills. Josie is ill and her family expect her to die. Klara is solar powered and thus worships the Sun like a god, and she bargains with the Sun to save Josie.

Klara is portrayed as a naïve but analytical person who does not understand emotions, but has a strong sense of duty towards Josie and the Sun. When Klara  cannot analyse what she sees, she experiences the world as being divided into partitions, highlighting the non-human vision for the reader, although Klara herself never perceives this partitioning as unusual. 

Pull Quotes

The embrace continued, and when I glanced again at the Mother, that whole section of the room had become partitioned, her narrowed eyes repeated in box after box, and in some boxes the eyes were watching Josie and the Father, while in others they were watching me. (page 186)

Situation machine vision is used in

Authored by

UUID
78265a53-ee4b-4011-a58d-8c032a5154f9