Reviews

Ghostwritten by David Mitchell

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rbreade's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Is it a novel or a series of linked stories? I slightly lean toward the former, though the connections among characters and events have some of the feel of a decidedly more linked series of short stories such as--in my opinion--A Visit from the Goon Squad. In any case, Mitchell, in this first novel, shows much of what will preoccupy him in later works, such as Asia and the unexpected connections among characters and events often separated by vast distances and/or time. The kicker comes when a disembodied spirit enters the narrative and sends you scrambling back through the pages for previous traces and signs of this entity.

jayseewhy's review against another edition

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4.0

As with the other David Mitchell books I’ve read, it took me some time to get into the flow of Ghostwritten. By the end I couldn’t stop reading and I feel like I could easily start it again from the beginning right now.

The book is made up of 10 different stories that are woven together in subtle and increasingly intricate ways.

wietse111's review against another edition

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4.0

Fascinerend boek. Het leest als een soort korte verhalenbundel, waarbij elk verhaal wel ergens wat linkjes met een aantal andere verhalen heeft. Het zijn iets van 10 hoofdstukken met volstrekt unieke plots, karakters, schrijfstijlen en zelfs genres. Van een verliefd stelletje tot een thriller over een wetenschapster die door de CIA ontvoerd wordt. Van een levensverhaal van een vrouw in revolutionair China tot een sci-fi noncorporeaal wezen dat in andere mensen leeft. Fascinerend en ik heb me goed vermaakt. Als dit nog net ietsje meer verbonden zou zijn zou het misschien 5 sterren zijn (denk, cloud atlas), maar nu ook erg goed.

brisingr's review against another edition

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Stopped at 37% because I can't make it to the class when we're discussing this particular novel. Schedules suck.
Enjoyed what I DID read of it, though. I just have so many other novels that I need to read and prioritize before this one, which is why I decided to let it go.

amarettto's review against another edition

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5.0

Ghostwritten is a long, and heavy read - I definitely did not know what I was in for. It's more like a series of snapshots, and I disagree with reviews calling them pieces of a puzzle. I feel like they are more like beads tied together with the same thread. Some beads touch other beads, and those are the most palpable moments of connectedness in the work.

I will say I don't think I gasped the deepest meanings and ideas of this story. At times it was too poetic for me, and I almost wanted to give up because I couldn't tell where it was going, and at what point I fell off the train of thought I was riding with the author. On looking up resource materials related to this book, I found theories about the same noncorpum entity traveling through most of the stories and that's not a connection I made on my own, and I'm not sure I still follow the theory. I will until then, make do with my own understanding of the level of connectedness in the story, though, because it was still enjoyable to experience. My favorite POVs were the noncorpum entity, and the first opening chapter following Quasar. I thought the radiohost section at the end was very well done as well, and the whole identity behind the Zookeeper was a good twist I didn't foresee.

All in all, I rated this on the basis of both my enjoyment and how profound I assessed it to be, and both of those were top scoring factors.

explikator's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A book that is actually made up of nine short stories and an epilogue.
Important events in the lives of nine completely different people are told. As you read on, you start to see connections, even a web of connections which becomes more and more dense, until in the ninth chapter you get the impression that Mitchell had a big plan for a big plot and we have just uncovered it.
But I didn't get that feeling. And the big ending was far too big for me for the not-so-big stories. The construction seemed too forced.
That said, the book was still a reading experience. Mitchell manages to effortlessly let the reader slip into different characters and masterfully adapts his style, vocabulary and narrative rhythm. Every person feels like they are made of flesh and blood and the characters who are not still remain plausible.
I liked the fourth chapter the most, which follows the life of a Chinese woman from childhood in pre-Mao times to the modern day. The most compelling read was certainly the ninth chapter, entirely in dialogue form, even if the revelations didn't live up to their promise.
Margarita and Marco were disappointing, and I struggled through their chapters.
I enjoyed reading the book, but not so much that I had to start all over again or feel urged to binge the next David Mitchell.