PART ONE

Klara and Rosa are new robots in a robot store. They get nourishment from the Sun. When Klara is
far away from the Sun, she worries about getting weaker. Another robot, Boy AF Rex (“Rex”), shows
up and tells her how to draw power from the floorboards, but when she does she draws a lot of power
and the store’s lights weaken. Because Klara overdraws the power, Rex calls her “greedy”, weakens,
and he is moved to the front of the store where he can regain power through natural sunlight.
he shows her how to draw from an alternate source of power,Klara is programmed to draw a
lot of power, and she ends up drawing enough power to dim the light
When a customer walks in, a woman and her daughter. The woman appears to be “high-ranking”. The
daughter, Caroline, is interested in purchasing Rex. The store manager explains that Rex is a
companion robot, more specifically the “B2, third series”. The woman notes that Rex’s model had
“solar absorption problems” and comments that she’s heard that underpowered robots can have
behavioral issues. She decides to pass on the robot. Afterwards, Klara realizes that Rex had been
commenting on Klara’s power usage previously because he’s aware of his own power issues.
Whereas Rex sees Klara as being too “greedy” about power, it sounds like from a consumer
perspective is actually a problem with Rex’s model not drawing enough power. Klara seems
taken aback that the woman would criticize Rex with him standing right there, shows that
she’s programmed to observe social niceties and to expect them.
Klara also shows a desire to want a “home”. She and Rosa both are programmed to want to
find owners and to want to stay charged.
Klara’s turn to stand in the front window, has instructions not to try to make eye contact with people
until people show interest in them first.
One day, a 14-year-old girl named Josie comes up to the window and talks to Klara. Josie chats
casually with Klara while her mother is in a taxi nearby chatting with her friend, Mrs. Jeffries. Klara
notes that both women appear to be high-ranking. When Josie’s mother comes up, Josie leaves, but
promises Klara that she’ll come back.
One day, Klara sees a vicious physical fight between two taxi-men. Rosa doesn’t even register that it’s
a fight and thinks they were just playing. Klara wonders if she is capable of being as angry as those
two men had been.
At the beginning of Klara’s second week standing at the window, Josie shows up again along with her
mother. Josie explains that she only wants Klara, but the mother is unsure and sizing up the
situation. Josie reassures Klara that if she goes home with her, she'll stay in her room as opposed to
some cupboard. Josie also admits that there’s something wrong with her and she has bad days. When
Josie leaves, she promises to return soon, but she doesn’t come back the next few days.
Klara is now no longer at the window and is mid-store instead. Her manager also starts switching
out what other robot she is paired with.
A girl with spiky hair comes in with her father, who looks high-ranking. The girl becomes interested
in Klara, but Klara remains expressionless and cold. The manager understands that Klara did so
because Klara is waiting for another child (Josie) to return, but the manager also says that it’s not
acceptable because it’s up to the child and not the AF to choose. She also says that children
sometimes make promises they don’t keep.
Despite her desire for a home, Klara wants to wait for Josie to return instead of allowing
herself to be purchased by someone else.
Manager tells Klara that she’s going up to the window by herself, that she’ll get a “special price” (a
discount) and manager reassures her that she’ll find her a home. Back in the window, Klara notices
that the Beggar Man and his dog that she’s noticed before aren’t moving. By the end of the day, Klara
thinks they are dead. But the next day, they are moving again, and Klara thinks that they must’ve
been revived by the Sun.
After six days, Klara’s time by the window is up, hears that Josie has entered the store with her
mother. Klara notices how tired her mother is. At first, Josie thinks that Klara is gone because she
can’t see her. The Manager brings them back to where Klara is and Josie lights up. Josie explains she
hasn’t been back because she’s been a little sick. The Mother asks Klara a series of questions to test
how observative she has been about Josie, including asking her to mimic Josie’s gait which indicates
her left hip is weak. The Mother agrees to buy Klara, and Josie is delighted.
PART TWO
In the house, Klara notices how stuff gets moved around, unlike in the store where things
generally stayed put, so Klara had to figure out how to navigate accordingly. The family also
employs a housekeeper, Melania, who seems to dislike Klara. Klara likes the kitchen, where
the Sun shines brightly, but she comes to understand that the Sun can make Josie too warm
and comes to appreciate the blind over the sunlight.
Klara also learns how important Mother’s morning coffee is. Josie likes to sit with her mother
each morning, and it’s Klara’s job to make sure Josie is up and ready in time for her mother’s
quick coffee break. When Josie’s health is still good, they watch the sunset from Josie’s
window as they wait for Mother’s return so Josie can join her for dinner.
One day, Mother comes home early and as they are joking around, Josie asks to go back upstairs for a
moment to watch the sunset because Klara likes it. As Klara and Josie watch the sunset, the sun sets
behind a barn nearby as usual, and Klara wonders why the Sun goes to rest inside a barn.
Josie explains that she and Rick have a plan to spend their lives together. Melania seems to be against
Klara and Josie going over to Ricks’s house, but Josie insists. Josie lives in the country, and she and
Rick’s houses are the only ones around for some distance. When they get there, Rick is playing with a
circular device that controls machine bird-like creatures in the sky. This is also the first time that
Klara has been outside.
Rick introduce Klara. As the kids talk about their own AFs, and Josie orders Klara around in a tone
that she typically only used with Melania. Then two of the boys, Scrubs and Danny, want to throw
Klara across the room to test her coordination and ask her to do various things. As the kids try to
give Klara commands, she ignores them, and Josie seems embarrassed. When one of the kids
comments about B3s being better, Josie joking agrees that maybe she wishes she would’ve gotten
one. One of the girls speaks up for Klara, saying that doing things like throwing AFs around like
objects is “evil” and “nasty”.
Rick’s comments take the focus off of Klara, but it also makes Danny hostile toward Rick.
After the meeting, Klara is worried about how her relationship with Josie will change after seeing her
with those other kids. However, things seem normal. Klara comes to understand that people may
“change” and act differently around others.