For Kazuo Ishiguro, music was one of the ways he imagined the emotional world of Klara And The Sun. The novel follows Klara, an Artificial Friend whose observations of human love, loneliness and loss gradually reshape her understanding of the world around her.
For this playlist, Ishiguro has brought together songs that trace Klara’s journey, from her early sense of wonder and her discovery of a world beyond the shop window to love, fear, faith and, ultimately, acceptance.
“I haven’t attempted here to seek out literal matches between lyrics and passages in the book,” Ishiguro explains, “but I believe these songs, played in this order, manage to track the inner trajectory of Klara’s story as found in both the novel and the movie.”
“Songs of naive wonder; the thrill of discovering a wider world; the transformative power of love and also its dark possessive underbelly; the fear of emptiness and desolate landscapes; the fragile faith in a protecting presence; and, finally, a sad, if tranquil, acceptance of the world and one’s place within it,” he says.
Press play below to enter the world of Ishiguro’s Klara And The Sun.
1. Dear Someone by Gillian Welch
From the album Time (The Revelator)
2. San Diego Serenade by Tom Waits
From the album The Heart Of Saturday Night
3. Everybody’s Talkin’ by Madeleine Peyroux
From the album Half The Perfect World
4. Vivo Sonhando by Morelenbaum2/Sakamoto
From the album Casa
5. Wild Is The Wind by Nina Simone
From the album Wild Is The Wind
6. Come Rain Or Come Shine by Ray Charles
From the album The Genius Of Ray Charles
7. Inútil Paisagem by Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim
From the album Elis And Tom
8. Amelia by Joni Mitchell
From the album Hejira
9. Brand New Day by Van Morrison
From the album Moondance
10. The Left Hand Of God by Charlie Haden
From the album Now Is The Hour
11. Blame It On My Youth by Keith Jarrett Trio (aka Standards Trio)
From the album The Cure
12. What A Wonderful World by Stacey Kent
From the album Breakfast On The Morning Tram
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