Sunday Salon: Japanese Authors and a Mystery

 Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. Intellect having "heart"

Klara and the Sun was easy to read for a literary novel of such magnitude and celebrity, I found.  A very much anticipated new book this year from Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro, the novel is set in a dystopian-like society, where Artificial Friends, computerized individuals or robots, are available for sale and purchased as companions to lonely teenagers. 

Klara is bought by Josie, a teen with a serious illness, who chose her specifically to become her artificial friend. At home, Klara sets out to try to save her charge, Josie, from succumbing to her illness and to find a way to have Josie restored to full health and life. 

The novel shows us empathy, love, hope, and sacrifice among the characters and especially from Josie's Artificial Friend, Klara, who seems more real than ever, even though only using her mind for her objective commentary and observation of her limited world. 

The book leaves you wondering if Klara's intellect and objective mind shows that doing what's beneficial for her charge Josie is a rational thing and not just an emotional response? 

Klara and the Sun did bring tears to my eyes.  Another mesmerizing novel from Ishiguro. 

Currently reading:

 

And now for a completely different book that I am enjoying.

A longtime fan of this antiques mystery series, I've started reading and getting hooked on Jane Cleland's new novel, Hidden Treasure . 

Josie Prescott, owner of an antiques store, is asked to find a lost trunk belonging to Maude, the previous owner of the Victorian house Josie and her husband have just bought. Set on the New Hampshire coast, the mystery has already hooked me into the case of the lost trunk and the significance of its contents. 

Another great read, found at the library, is Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, a book of short interconnected stories that I am really liking. The setting is an old fashioned coffee shop and the stories are about the customers who are featured in four long stories. 

I have finished the first story, a romance in which the coffee shop becomes a magical world for one new patron, and am looking forward to the next three stories. 

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon