Narrated by Sura Siu, Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro has a runtime of 10 hrs 16 mins on Audible.
Publisher’s Summary
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go is “an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures … a poignant meditation on love and loneliness” (The Associated Press). • A GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick!
“What stays with you in ‘Klara and the Sun’ is the haunting narrative voice—a genuinely innocent, egoless perspective on the strange behavior of humans obsessed and wounded by power, status and fear.” —Booker Prize committee
Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Sura Siu
- Length: 10 hrs 16 mins
- Publisher: Random House Audio
- Release year: 2021
- Audible category: Literature & Fiction / Genre Fiction / Literary Fiction
Listener Ratings
Klara and the Sun holds an average listener rating of 4.2/5 from 10820 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.5/5
- Story: 4.1/5
- 5-star ratings: 51% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
5/5 stars — “Beautiful book, excellent narration “
Couldn’t wait for this new book to come out! It’s beautiful and heartbreaking, just like all Ishiguro.— Olga, Audible listener
3/5 stars — “Codependant Pinochio”
I read a few of the reviews below but I don’t think the core of this book is about plot or the prospects of artificial intelligence. I found it to be far more about emotional life, dynamics in family, our expectations of others and the kind of obedience and consistency we grow to expect and often demand. The book seems to be more about loneliness, loss, obedience, purity and how a kind of intellectual and emotional nutrition can reinforce or corrupt an individual. There’s such an overtone of avoid difficult and unpleasant emotions and the desire to replace or fill in what’s missing. In addition the binary class division strikes me as something Ishiguro encountered quite clearly growing up in the UK while maintaining his outside status he could reveal what he sees in the society…..but I have a sense the division exists in his emotional self too. Bottom line though is I didn’t love the book Maybe it’s better to read than have narrated. I mostly felt kinda gross and disconcerted hearing it.— john burke, Audible listener
3/5 stars — “Wasn’t in the right space”
I think I needed to read this book, rather than listen to it, for it to have its full impact. I feel like I grasped lightly some of the difficult questions Ishiguro offers to his readers here, but I didn’t engage as deeply with them as I could have if I were reading the book. I want to try again in the future. I also appreciated the narrator’s ability to perform the book in the voice of an AI, but it made it hard for me to focus my attention for long intervals.— Stephanie S., Audible listener
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