Speculative fiction is not my cup of tea, except when written by Kazuo
Ishiguro ("Ish" per his preference). Therefore, I stumble at entry,
getting accustomed to using the part of my brain required for accepting
this genre. It took a while for this memoir by Klara, a solar powered
AF (artificial friend), who has been programmed to both giving kindness
and recognizing it in others. It is the most common word in the book.
Her home with a shattered family is as an AF to a fragile daughter, in a
community which vaguely resembles our own pandemic lockdown present.
Ish recently said in an interview that he finished his book before the
pandemic, and did not foresee the coming lockdown. This book grew on
me, the longer I read. Also watching the personal interview gave me a
deeper insight into his rationale for his choices. Is there an
individual soul? Can the human heart be read by another? I ended by
loving the book, and as with Ish's other books, feel a lingering
haunting upon completion.