Klara and the Sun

Chapter-by-chapter summary

Spoiler warning: this section covers the whole plot, including the ending.

In the store window

Klara is an Artificial Friend, or AF, sold in a shop and powered by sunlight. She sits in the window beside Rosa and watches the street, learning how people behave. She sees a homeless man and his dog lying still on the pavement and believes they have died. The next day they are alive, and she decides the Sun gave them special nourishment. This is where her faith begins. From the window she also sees the Cootings Machine, a construction machine whose black smoke troubles her. A girl called Josie stops outside and promises to come back. Weeks later she does, with her mother, who studies Klara carefully before buying her. This matters because it sets up Klara's way of seeing: sharp, curious and trusting.

A new home

At Josie's house Klara meets the housekeeper, who treats her coldly at first, and Josie's neighbour Rick. Rick is clever but was not 'lifted', a kind of genetic enhancement that many children in this world receive. Klara learns that Josie is often unwell and that Josie's older sister died of an illness. She studies the family's moods and moves quietly through the rooms. This section matters because it shows Klara reading feelings that the humans hide from each other.

Josie grows weaker

Josie's health slips and her mother grows more anxious. Rick and Josie are pulled apart by the adults' plans for their futures, and the book hints that lifting carries its own risks. Klara watches both of them and keeps looking for a way to help. Her faith in the Sun is her main tool, and to her it feels as solid as any fact. This matters because it shows why she will soon act in a way no one else would.

The bargain with the Sun

As Josie grows weaker, Klara decides to act on her faith. She asks Rick to take her to McBain's barn, where she believes the Sun goes to rest. Rick, who cares for Josie too, goes with her. In the barn Klara makes her plea, asking the Sun to make Josie better, just as it did for the homeless man. In return she promises to destroy the Cootings Machine, which she believes weakens the Sun. This matters because it shows how far Klara will go for love on the strength of a belief that only she holds.

Mr Capaldi's portrait

The Mother takes Josie and Klara to the city to see Mr Capaldi, an artist and scientist who is making a 'portrait' of Josie. Klara slowly realises that the portrait is not a painting but a lifelike figure of Josie, a replica she is meant to become if Josie dies. The Mother hopes Klara will learn Josie's habits so well that she can 'continue' her, and Klara practises Josie's walk and manner. Mr Capaldi argues that nothing in a person is beyond being continued. Klara doubts that a copy could hold what makes Josie herself. This matters because it is the novel's coldest idea: a person treated as a pattern that can be reproduced.

The Cootings Machine

Klara cannot destroy the machine alone, so she asks Josie's Father, a former engineer, for help. He suggests putting P-E-G Nine, the fluid that Klara carries in her head, into the machine, and he has it extracted from her. Together they sabotage the Cootings Machine, and Klara accepts that the loss may dull some of her abilities. The machine is soon replaced by a new one. Nothing improves at once: Josie grows worse, and Klara goes back to the barn to ask the Sun to remember how much Josie and Rick love each other. Then, as Josie lies close to death, the Sun's special nourishment floods the sickroom, and over the following months Josie recovers. The book leaves it open whether the Sun or chance is the cause. This matters because Klara's sacrifice is real, and the story keeps both readings possible.

The Yard

Josie, restored to health, prepares for college, and drifts apart from Rick as they take different paths. On the day she leaves, Josie says goodbye to Klara one last time. Klara is no longer needed in the same way, and her body and memory slowly wear down. She is moved first to a storage room and later to a Yard where discarded machines are left, where she sits in a spot she chose and replays memories. The Manager visits. Klara tells her about the morning the Sun was kind to Josie. The Manager tells her that things went less well for Rosa and says she is happy for Klara. The ending is quiet and sad, but Klara counts her time with Josie as a good life, and the book asks what that kind of loyalty is worth.

Characters

• Klara. The narrator, a solar-powered Artificial Friend. She observes closely, believes in the Sun, and puts Josie's wellbeing above her own. Her limited view of human life makes her account both naive and sharp.
• Josie. A teenage girl who is bright, funny and often ill. She was 'lifted' to improve her prospects, and the treatment carries risks. Her bond with Klara grows from a promise made at the shop window.
• The Mother. Josie's mother, who has already lost one daughter. She is strong-willed and fearful, warm one moment and guarded the next. Her love for Josie shapes every decision in the house, including a painful plan for the future.
• The Father. Josie's father, a former engineer who lives apart from the Mother. When Klara asks for help, he suggests using P-E-G Nine to sabotage the Cootings Machine and has the fluid extracted from her head. His part shows another side of the household.
• Rick. Josie's neighbour and closest friend, a gifted boy who was not lifted and so has fewer options in life. He is loyal and stubborn, and he helps Klara when it matters. Their friendship is one of the book's warmest threads.
• Mr Capaldi. A scientist and artist who builds the 'portrait' of Josie. He argues that a person can be continued, and he speaks with confidence about his work and less about its cost. His ideas challenge Klara and the reader.
• The housekeeper. She works in Josie's home and is stern with Klara at first. Her attitude shows how people in this world see AFs: useful, but not quite trusted. Her reactions help Klara learn the unspoken rules of the household.
• The Manager. Runs the shop where Klara waits and treats the AFs with real kindness. She appears again near the end, giving Klara a chance to look back on her life. Her care makes the shop feel like a small home rather than only a store.
• Rosa. Another Artificial Friend who shares Klara's shop window. She is more cautious than Klara, which shows that two similar machines can see the world differently. Their talks reveal what life in the shop is like for AFs.

Writing about this book

Use these ideas to build your own essay or discussion notes. The summary above is a map, not an answer.

• Pick one question: is Klara's faith in the Sun foolish, brave or both? Support your view with two scenes.
• Compare how Klara and the adults see Josie. Who understands her best, and why?
• Look at the word 'lifted'. What does the book say about a society that edits children to give them an advantage?
• Follow the idea of being 'useful'. How does the final section change the way you view the earlier chapters?
• Ask what Klara can teach a human reader about attention and loyalty.

Tip: choose one scene and describe what it makes you notice before you say what you think. Quote briefly, name the part of the book, and explain in your own words. Strong essays on this novel stay close to Klara's point of view and avoid guessing what the author wants you to feel.