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Cloud Atlas: A Novel Review

David Mitchell has been called a genius by more learned individuals than me. This novel is certainly proof of that. It is filled with symbolism, stories nested within each other, major and minor common themes among the stories, and it goes to enormous strides to help to characterize the cruelty of man to his fellow man over hundreds of years from the distant past into the far future. He even gets in ridicule of the rampant consumerism that has engulfed our world. The fact that he is able to do this while telling a rip-snorting tale only adds to the perception of his genius.

The book begins with the story of Adam Ewing, who in 1849 is traveling in the South Pacific and recording a journal of his voyage. His journal ends abruptly (in the middle of a sentence!) and the next story begins which takes place in Belgium in 1931. At one point in this story, the author mentions Adam Ewing's journal, a part of which has been located on the book shelves of the estate in Belgium where the story is set. This story continues until it, also, ends abruptly. And so it goes. Each of six stories, all set in different times and places, with entirely unique characters, is connected somehow to the story that precedes it. One of the stories is told from beginning to end, uninterrupted. But each remaining story is concluded in a later chapter in the book. This provides for an absolutely fascinating read.

The amazing thing for me was Mitchell's uncanny ability to provide a unique voice for each story. With dialects to match the period in history and the location on earth, and although the plots, theme, voice and setting vary greatly, he is able to weave them together and move the reader along through a mesmerizing narrative. Mitchell's signature humor shines in "The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish":

"I asked for a loan of eighty thousand pounds. He began with a thoughtful, 'Right.....' I lowered my ceiling to sixty. Elliot pointed out that my performance linked credit stream still had a twelve month flow horizon before resizing could be feasibly optioned. Oh, I miss the days when they'd laugh like a hyena, tell you to go to hell and hang up." (Page 156)

With Mitchell's heavier themes, though, he doesn't mince words. Dr. Henry Goose reveals his Two Laws of Survival in 1849:

"It runs thus, `The weak are meat the strong do eat.' It upsets me that a dedicated healer & gentle Christian can succumb to such cynicism. I asked to hear Goose's Second law of Survival. Henry grinned in the dark and cleared his throat. `The Second Law of Survival states that there is no second law. Eat or be eaten. That's it." (Page 489-490)

I can't begin how say how much I enjoyed this novel. Mitchell was brilliant and "Cloud Atlas" is not to be missed. It will make you think....a lot. That thinking will continue after the book is completed and probably for some time to come. Very highly recommended.

Cloud Atlas: A Novel Feature

ISBN13: 9780375507250
Condition: New
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Cloud Atlas: A Novel Overview

From David Mitchell, the Booker Prize nominee, award-winning writer and one of the featured authors in Granta’s “Best of Young British Novelists 2003” issue, comes his highly anticipated third novel, a work of mind-bending imagination and scope.

A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation -- the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.

In his captivating third novel, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of language, genre and time to offer a meditation on humanity’s dangerous will to power, and where it may lead us.

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Customer Reviews

Kindle version has numerous errors - Scott Snibbe - San Francisco, CA USA
This book is extraordinarily good. However, the kindle edition has numerous typographical errors, some of which significantly impact the reader. In addition to missing periods, formatting errors, typos, and stray carriage returns, there are even errors which impact ones understanding of the novel. In particular, the second story is labeled as taking place in 1991 instead of 1931. Publisher, please fix these errors, they are an insult to a work of genius.

Bitingly unique and engaging - J. D. Koshar -
Exceptional novel, rarely do I feel the author has both enough self-awareness of his craft and respect for his readers -- Mitchell has both and ever so much more to offer.

This is What All Books Should be Like - Book Dork - Southern California
One hundred years from now, students will be taking courses on David Mitchell in colleges around the country- I am confident in saying that his work will withstand the test of time. Cloud Atlas is an intricately created work that exemplifies what literature should be.

Loved:
- The five sections in this novel are each given the same amount of care and attention, and the way they are woven together demands that the reader pay attention. Generally when reading segmented books I tend to gravitate towards some than others- I can honestly say that each of the stories completely captivated me.
- Mitchell's prose, as always, embodies this unique quality in which it is both modern and aged with wisdom. His descriptions are never boring, his dialogue is flawless, and his research is carefully done.
- There's something for everyone in this novel; history, the future, scandal, mystery, and ethics.
- While reading it's obvious that Mitchell loves what he does; he's attached to the characters and story and refuses to cut corners in any way. I saw him at a reading a few months ago, and his appreciation for the craft and his readers is admirable and refreshing.

Not For Everyone
- This is a long, dense book that is definitely not for everyone. It makes you think about the text itself and about life in general- those that want a quick read should look elsewhere.

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Books Literature & Fiction

Monday, September 6, 2010