Klara and the Sun

Kind, precocious, and mature, Josie is loved by her family and Klara. Her illness prevents her from living an active life, and while she often brushes off concerns about her waning health, there are moments in which her fear of death breaks through. She loves Rick, but can be blunt and insensitive with him.

Josie is kind and insightful. She is, in some ways, a human mirror to Klara, which strengthens their friendship. Despite her academic ability, knowledge of adult topics, and lack of pretense, Josie, like Klara, represents innocence. She deserves to enjoy her childhood, but instead she is sick because of the procedure that was done to her. Like Klara, she is curious about the world around her, and she wants the people in her life to be happy. She minimizes her illness in an attempt to assuage her mother’s worries and guilt, and finally relays the message through Rick that if given the choice, she would be lifted again.

Josie is a complex character, but her traits aren’t as symbolic or plot-contingent as those of other characters. Klara concludes at the end of the novel that there isn’t necessarily anything special inside Josie, but that her soul exists in the hearts of those that love her. Structurally, Josie serves as a vessel for love from Klara, Rick, her parents, and Melania. Her love is necessarily unique because it is specific to her, but not contingent on any one aspect of her personality.

Josie’s mother Chrissy is perhaps the most complex and contradictory character presented in Klara and the Sun. She is devoted to Josie, doing everything she can for her, but has her own needs as well. Upon first seeing Chrissy, Klara says: “I could see the deep etches around her mouth, and also a kind of angry exhaustion in her eyes” (15). For years, Chrissy has been dealing with guilt about her daughter Sal’s death, and Josie’s sickness, both of which resulted indirectly from her decision to have them lifted. Chrissy’s guilt is also a product of love—in Chrissy’s mind, both Sal and Josie wouldn’t have been content without the opportunities afforded by genetic editing, and so she took the risk both times.

Chrissy often deals with her guilt by lashing out. At the interaction meeting, she makes another parent feel bad for making a clumsy comment. She says harsh and unfair things to Josie, Rick, and Klara, and at times tortures herself by replaying memories and having Klara imitate Josie. Still, she loves Josie and eventually comes to love Klara.

Chrissy has a model made of Sal after Sal’s death, but it doesn’t work out. She tries again with Josie, planning this time to use Klara’s perceptive consciousness. She feels strongly that in the event of Josie’s death, she will not be able to go on without Josie’s replacement, but Paul tells Klara that Chrissy will never accept an android Josie in her heart. Chrissy’s character in Klara and the Sun is thus defined by her contradictions. She loves Josie, but loses hope in her recovery. She buys Klara planning to dismantle her, but finally defends Klara from Mr. Capaldi’s designs.

Rick lives close to Josie with his mother, Helen, and is Josie’s best friend. They grew up together, and have a vague “plan” to be there for each other through life. Rick has an British accent because his mother is from England. Rick’s mother has much less money than Chrissy, and Rick was never lifted. Rick often worries that Josie getting lifted will change her, and that she will become spoiled and pretentious like the other wealthy, lifted children. For this reason, he is initially suspicious of Klara, but soon recognizes her empathy and love for Josie. Like Chrissy, Rick sometimes shows his love for Josie in unproductive ways, acting out of jealousy. Still, Rick is mature and level-headed compared with the adults. He accepts Josie with her illness, and responds to Chrissy’s guilty reproach with grace.

The phenomenon of lifting children is, overall, presented as a dystopian evil—it amplifies economic inequality and carries enormous health risks, all in the name of competition. Rick is smart, decent, well-spoken, and caring, despite being unlifted. For Ishiguro, Rick is a symbol of inherent goodness in humanity, which cannot be engineered, and which stands in opposition to the capitalist eugenics of lifting children.

Rick’s mother, Helen, grew up in England and used to work in the theater. Like Chrissy, she is separated from her child’s father, and feels regret and guilt about her decision regarding lifting, even though her decision was the opposite of Chrissy’s. To assuage her guilt and because she loves Rick, she tries her best to manipulate others into helping Rick get into Atlas Brookings. She comes across as blunt, honest, and eccentric, but reveals at the meeting with Vance and Rick that she is willing to do anything to achieve her goal of helping Rick succeed. Her apologies to Vance may or may not have been sincere, but by the end of the meeting, she only cares whether or not they were enough to get Vance to help Rick.

Paul is Josie’s father. He is a talented engineer, but was “substituted” at his job and now lives in a community with other unemployable ex-professionals. Through Paul, we learn something about the political landscape in the world of Klara and the Sun. Paul’s community is white, and he contends that “if another group won’t respect us, and what we have, they need to know they’ll have a fight on their hands” (229).

Because he loves Josie and is willing to try anything, Paul helps Klara to sabotage the Cootings Machine. He is more antagonistic toward Mr. Capaldi than Chrissy, but confides in Klara that deep down, he is afraid he might agree with Mr. Capaldi’s rationalist reasoning. Like Chrissy and Helen, Paul is willing to go to great lengths to save Josie.