Consider some of the ways that the characters in the book socialize: the "quick coffee" with the Mother and Josie, the kids' "interaction meetings," Josie and Rick's drawing meetings, and the sessions Josie has with Mr. How are these concerns about a child's ability to succeed, and the measures that people will take to alter those outcomes, similar and different from what happens in society now? Were those efforts to win Vance's favor fruitful in the end? What might Rick have been able to do to advance society's dependence on technology had his drone development and other engineering been supported?ġ1. Discuss the scene at the diner with Helen, Rick, and Vance. How does the natural setting help the Mother to reveal some of her vulnerabilities and fears? Why do you think the Mother makes the choices she does for her daughter?ġ0. Discuss Klara and the Mother's trip to Morgan's Falls together. What is unusual about their friendship and their plan for their future, given the social hierarchy for children based on their class and economic privilege?ĩ. Rick and Josie carry on a quiet but intimate relationship through their drawings.
What does Klara's connection to the Sun suggest about the nature of her inner world? Is her understanding of its power based mostly on what seems to be the plain facts of her existence-that she is powered by solar energy-or something deeper?Ĩ. What do these conversations, thoughts, and feelings suggest about the sophistication of the AI technology in the novel, or about the unknown depths of the AFs' consciousness?ħ.
Before Klara goes home with Josie, Klara and the other AFs have a rapport with one another, especially with Rosa. What shadow does that loss cast on the family and over the novel as a whole?Ħ. Sal, Josie's late sister, is said to have died from a disease when the girls were younger. Based on what we learn from the conversations among Helen, Chrissie, Paul, and Rick about the choices parents make for their children in this world, how might that have affected Josie's condition?ĥ. The details of Josie's illness are kept vague. Does the term "Artificial Friend" resonate at all with you now, as a contemporary reader in the age of social media and the internet? What's the difference in the level of interaction between children and their "artificial" versus their real/human friends?Ĥ. How do the tone and style of her first-person narration help to convey the degree of her attention to detail?ģ. Klara is prized for her observational qualities as an Artificial Friend. Which elements of the novel felt familiar to you at the time of reading, which felt hard to imagine, and which were easy to imagine as a possibility for your lifetime?Ģ.
The setting of Klara and the Sun is sometime in the future, when artificial intelligence (AI) has become more integrated into human society.
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