Klara and the Sun is a quick yet fun read about an AF (Artificial Friend) and her relationship with her child, Josie.

Though I enjoyed the prose and the way the plot played out, I was hoping for more depth in the characters. I thought much more could have been done with Klara’s character and the individuals whose lives she touched. Some of the interactions were fleshed out, but a great majority fell short; I would have liked to see more of Klara and the Mother’s relationship because it seemed like there was room for more than what was represented. On another note, Rick’s story storyline line didn’t seem necessary. Sure, his role in the novel affects Klara and Josie, but I felt the book could have done something similar without his existence.

Overall, I found the reading experience enjoyable and plan to give Ishiguro’s other works a read sometime in the near future. I just don’t think the novel’s overarching themes reached their full potential.

Mayflies offers a nostalgic look at friendship and the memories we hold onto well into adulthood.

Though I enjoyed the setting of the first half of the novel and felt the dynamic between friends was realistic, I ultimately found I didn’t feel an emotional pull toward anyone — especially Tully. As the book centers around Tully specifically, this meant I didn’t care much about the latter half of the novel and was mostly waiting for compelling character arcs that never came. It seemed that, apart from what little was offered in the first half of the book, I knew nothing about Tully and found myself waiting for the book to reach its conclusion.

Overall, I thought the prose was fun and the setting interesting. I just didn’t care about the characters because they weren’t fleshed out enough.