This novel was published in 2021 to rave reviews and I recently had the opportunity to listen to it as an audiobook and to see how it had aged as technology has accelerated forward.

One of the major themes of the novel is what it is like to be human and whether that can be replicated by a machine. In the case of this novel, the mother of the sickly Josie is entertaining the possibility of Klara, Josie’s robotic artificial friend (AF) being engineered to become her should Josie die. There’s no doubt that Klara can produce a superb impersonation but is there something more?

Given the advances in AI and developments in the visual media it is now possible to see public figures realistically modelled to do all sorts of things but I’m doubtful whether that really fools people – although the technology behind it develops exponentially and may yet do so.

Another theme of the book is a critique of American social life and that seems to be wearing a little thin. For example, Ric’s mother tries to persuade an old lover, Vance, to pull a few strings so that Ric can get to college. It’s a drawn out episode intended I think to show the odd things humans can get up to but it doesn’t really seem to work now.

Also, Klara’s belief in the power of the sun to heal Josie in the sense that she appears to be developing some kind of religiosity seems laboured. It is one of the areas where Klara is beginning to sound more like a pompous sixth former rather than a robot!

That’s another limitation in the sense that everything in the story is seen through the eyes of Klara. Of course, she recounts what others say but that doesn’t always convince!

However, the book is still an interesting read both for its ideas and presentation and was well worth revisiting.