Scan barcode
jesslolsen's review against another edition
2.0
I am so confused. I have no idea why this book has such a cult following.
I saw the links between each of the characters in each chapter (yes, very clever and very well done) but now that I've finished the book, I still feel like I'm missing something. To be honest, the stories got harder and harder to read and enjoy the further on I got. I nearly stopped at the 75% mark, but I persisted, and now I'm left feeling like I've just wasted my time.
So much potential but it was obviously wasted on me.
I saw the links between each of the characters in each chapter (yes, very clever and very well done) but now that I've finished the book, I still feel like I'm missing something. To be honest, the stories got harder and harder to read and enjoy the further on I got. I nearly stopped at the 75% mark, but I persisted, and now I'm left feeling like I've just wasted my time.
So much potential but it was obviously wasted on me.
timna_wyckoff's review against another edition
5.0
Another great book by David Mitchell. I might have to read more :) I just never tire of his creative story-telling and wildly inventive voices. I especially liked the noncorporeal being (David Levithan must have read this before writing "Every Day", right?), the quantum physicist, and strangely, the shock-jock talk radio DJ. Can't wait for book club!
ronan_palmer's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
categj's review against another edition
5.0
David Mitchell's brilliant debut novel, Ghostwritten, is a mesmerizing journey across space and time — an adventure that spans the globe and is told by nine different characters each in their own voice.
At first, I was overwhelmed with the depth of the story — trying to figure everything out, but when I relaxed and focused on the telling — well, I was hooked!
Mitchell's language is beautiful, his characters compelling and the story is a wild ride. This book, subtitled "A novel in nine parts" is narrated in turn by an Okinawan cult-member turned terrorist, a music aficionado in Tokyo; an unscrupulous lawyer working in Hong Kong; an ancient Chinese woman tea shop owner; a disembodied spirit in Mongolia; a beautiful Russian art thief; a writer from London; a brilliant Irish physicist; and a late-night radio talk show host in New York. The author effortlessly connects these narratives through coincidences and chance encounters much like an accomplished juggler deftly adds odd objects to his collection of moving balls without missing a beat.
Reading Ghostwritten was akin to having a vivid, otherworldly dream — the kind that dissipates into a mist upon awakening leaving only wispy impressions of its meaning. A book that invites you to read it again and yet again, each time discovering some new truth.
I recommend this book to book clubs and anyone who enjoys a convoluted, layered tale whose theme is open to interpretation. There is a lot to talk about in this book.
At first, I was overwhelmed with the depth of the story — trying to figure everything out, but when I relaxed and focused on the telling — well, I was hooked!
Mitchell's language is beautiful, his characters compelling and the story is a wild ride. This book, subtitled "A novel in nine parts" is narrated in turn by an Okinawan cult-member turned terrorist, a music aficionado in Tokyo; an unscrupulous lawyer working in Hong Kong; an ancient Chinese woman tea shop owner; a disembodied spirit in Mongolia; a beautiful Russian art thief; a writer from London; a brilliant Irish physicist; and a late-night radio talk show host in New York. The author effortlessly connects these narratives through coincidences and chance encounters much like an accomplished juggler deftly adds odd objects to his collection of moving balls without missing a beat.
Reading Ghostwritten was akin to having a vivid, otherworldly dream — the kind that dissipates into a mist upon awakening leaving only wispy impressions of its meaning. A book that invites you to read it again and yet again, each time discovering some new truth.
I recommend this book to book clubs and anyone who enjoys a convoluted, layered tale whose theme is open to interpretation. There is a lot to talk about in this book.
scraticeage's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ajreads22's review against another edition
4.0
I feel, to review this book, I need to view it less as a complete novel and more as a series of slightly connected short stories, each taking place in different locations with different protagonists and different events, but with tiny elements that link not just to previous stories but future ones too. Like any short story collection, there are ones that are better than others: for the most part, 'Ghostwritten' was pretty solid in that area. There was maybe only one story that I didn't like, but even then it was far from awful. Otherwise, I thought the stories were pretty great.
However, there was undoubtedly one stand out that blew me away, so much so that I would have no complaints with reading an entire novel following this character (or characters, but you'll see what I mean when you get to it): Mongolia. This took such an interesting idea and simultaneously flipped the book on its head for me and I found myself counting down the pages left to the next story not because I was eager to move on but because I didn't want it to end.
Please, David Mitchell: for your next book, just go back to this character. Please. I asked nicely, I think.
If I have any complaints, its that sometimes the connections didn't quite land, and I'm not sure if this is Mitchell's fault or mine. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention enough. Possibly. But I'm not going to allow that to massively drag down what is otherwise a really interesting and exciting book, with a vast collection of hugely different perspectives and tales. Like I said, some were better than others but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed 'Ghostwritten'. Better than 'The Bone Clocks' but not quite as good as 'Cloud Atlas'. I definitely intend to read more of Mr Mitchell in the future.
On a side note, I completely lost my mind whenever any of the 'Cloud Atlas' characters turned up.
However, there was undoubtedly one stand out that blew me away, so much so that I would have no complaints with reading an entire novel following this character (or characters, but you'll see what I mean when you get to it): Mongolia. This took such an interesting idea and simultaneously flipped the book on its head for me and I found myself counting down the pages left to the next story not because I was eager to move on but because I didn't want it to end.
Please, David Mitchell: for your next book, just go back to this character. Please. I asked nicely, I think.
If I have any complaints, its that sometimes the connections didn't quite land, and I'm not sure if this is Mitchell's fault or mine. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention enough. Possibly. But I'm not going to allow that to massively drag down what is otherwise a really interesting and exciting book, with a vast collection of hugely different perspectives and tales. Like I said, some were better than others but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed 'Ghostwritten'. Better than 'The Bone Clocks' but not quite as good as 'Cloud Atlas'. I definitely intend to read more of Mr Mitchell in the future.
On a side note, I completely lost my mind whenever any of the 'Cloud Atlas' characters turned up.
grayjay's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not a fan of novels in that take the form of linked short stories. In a novel you're either willing to commit to the premise of you're not; with short fiction, you can decide to skip a story if you're not into it; but the stories are linked, you feel like you have to read them all for the sake of the overarching narrative even if you don't like it.
I was frustrated by Ghostwritten—that many of the stories were connected by throw-away lines. I greatly enjoyed maybe a third of the book.
My favourite was Night Train. It was the most suspenseful, compelling, and relevant. I always love the tension created when characters understandably disbelief the incredible, but as a reader you know it to be true.
I was frustrated by Ghostwritten—that many of the stories were connected by throw-away lines. I greatly enjoyed maybe a third of the book.
My favourite was Night Train. It was the most suspenseful, compelling, and relevant. I always love the tension created when characters understandably disbelief the incredible, but as a reader you know it to be true.
serenhybrid's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I was enjoying this book until the last chapter, which utterly killed it. As many reviewers have said, maybe I'm just not intelligent enough to comprehend the thread that ties everything together, but for me, throwaway references to the other narratives in the book does not make it clever!
I enjoyed the concept and I really appreciated the commentary on humanities inability to safeguard ourselves or the planet due to inherent greed and jingoism, among other things. But that message was not cleverly scattered across the various points of view but rather hammered home quite unsubtly in one chapter.
It's also worth mentioning that the misogyny of the writer is quite staggering and blatant. Almost every female character existed only to be raped, advised and taken advantage of, and most male characters inherently looked down upon any females in their life. This is not "one unlikable character", this is a theme across the entire book that reflects the authors views and not the characters. That makes it almost unreasonable for me, and I would have been a DNF if this wasn't recommended highly by two friends whose opinions I greatly value. Even in the second to last chapter, I was recommending this book to other people. Now I won't, or I might tell them to just stop before the end! Very disappointing.
I enjoyed the concept and I really appreciated the commentary on humanities inability to safeguard ourselves or the planet due to inherent greed and jingoism, among other things. But that message was not cleverly scattered across the various points of view but rather hammered home quite unsubtly in one chapter.
It's also worth mentioning that the misogyny of the writer is quite staggering and blatant. Almost every female character existed only to be raped, advised and taken advantage of, and most male characters inherently looked down upon any females in their life. This is not "one unlikable character", this is a theme across the entire book that reflects the authors views and not the characters. That makes it almost unreasonable for me, and I would have been a DNF if this wasn't recommended highly by two friends whose opinions I greatly value. Even in the second to last chapter, I was recommending this book to other people. Now I won't, or I might tell them to just stop before the end! Very disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Sexism, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: War
kingarooski's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
algorithm0392's review against another edition
2.0
Two stars in my book is a “would not recommend, except for one redeeming factor” which in this case is that Tyler really enjoys David Mitchell and perhaps I’m just not smart enough to.
The stories and threads here just didn’t come together nearly as I thought they would. And if I wasn’t in the middle of the woods with sketchy Wi-Fi and few other books, I’m not sure this escapes the DNF list.
The “ghostwritten” title theme does carry a lot of the weight here — which is clever and to be admired.
The stories and threads here just didn’t come together nearly as I thought they would. And if I wasn’t in the middle of the woods with sketchy Wi-Fi and few other books, I’m not sure this escapes the DNF list.
The “ghostwritten” title theme does carry a lot of the weight here — which is clever and to be admired.