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asolis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
Little library find. Six stories nested within each other - you pass halfway through each until you reach the center and work your way back through each second half in reverse order. While the stories are clearly linked together, I expected a stronger connection to reveal itself over time.
I admit most of them took a minute to get into and I almost quit the whole book about 5 pages in. But once you get the hang of each story's dialect it draws you in hard.
A lot of racism and I often wondered whether it was for effect, "historical accuracy," or why it was necessary. But ultimately it contributes to the overall track towards anticapitalism and environmentalism, a warning against white supremacy and the havoc it has and will wreak upon our planet and its people.
I was pleased to benefit from my recent reading of Brave New World and 1984, which are especially referenced in the 5th story.
I admit most of them took a minute to get into and I almost quit the whole book about 5 pages in. But once you get the hang of each story's dialect it draws you in hard.
A lot of racism and I often wondered whether it was for effect, "historical accuracy," or why it was necessary. But ultimately it contributes to the overall track towards anticapitalism and environmentalism, a warning against white supremacy and the havoc it has and will wreak upon our planet and its people.
I was pleased to benefit from my recent reading of Brave New World and 1984, which are especially referenced in the 5th story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Vomit, Cannibalism, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Genocide, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Death, and Confinement
random19379's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicide, Racism, and Slavery
whackettreading's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racial slurs, and Racism
silentbutcuddly's review against another edition
slow-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
3.0
“Cloud Atlas” is a series of interconnected stories that span centuries, each containing characters who are the reincarnated people from the previous stories. I wasn’t a fan of all the stories that took place in the distance, nor was I fan of the racism therein. I also though all the stories started blurring together in a bland sameness as the book progressed.
And most of the stories failed to pique my interest aside from Sonmi-451, which follows a clone who gains sentience. Initially I thought this was a clever story, until I realized the clone in Sonmi-451 was essential an android in all but name, making it a cliche story about a robot becoming sentient.
Overall, I just thought the book was average and give it 3 out of 5 stars. You might like this more than me if you’re into historical fiction, which most of these stories were.
And most of the stories failed to pique my interest aside from Sonmi-451, which follows a clone who gains sentience. Initially I thought this was a clever story, until I realized the clone in Sonmi-451 was essential an android in all but name, making it a cliche story about a robot becoming sentient.
Overall, I just thought the book was average and give it 3 out of 5 stars. You might like this more than me if you’re into historical fiction, which most of these stories were.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
spacebee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Colonisation, and Racism
artmuseam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
this is probably one of the most confusing but extraordinary books i’ve ever come across. first, i particularly enjoyed the ways in which different storylines from various timelines all connected together through “easter eggs”, but i didn’t entirely understand the significance of how each storyline was connected to each other. i also didn’t like the storyline occurring in the middle. perhaps this is just me being uptight on my end, but when i read something that is difficult to decipher and takes a while to actually understand what the convoluted words are saying, i lose motivation to read on. in fact, i had to skim through that entire part just for the sake of finishing the story and seeing what happens in the end. i will say, however, that the other storylines were quite thrilling and kept me at the edge of my seat. when i noticed those easter eggs, i grew excited and wanted to find the significance—only to realize there wasn’t really one (unless i misread, or just completely skipped over it?) the concept itself was very interesting and the different writing styles (aside from the middle one) created a lively and visceral setting for the entire book. who knows, maybe i will have to give this a reread in the future to actually grasp it. this was definitely a confusing, thought provoking, and disoriented read that i weirdly enjoyed. 4.5/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Racial slurs, Blood, Cannibalism, Slavery, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Rape, Animal death, and Sexual assault
sr_marshrat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It's Mitchell, so, of course Cloud Atlas is beautifully written, each of his six worlds rendered such that they engulf the reader completely. It takes more than beautiful writing, though, to make a story engaging, and not all of Mitchell's six souls had stories that stood well on their own. I found myself racing through those chapters, less interested in the characters and their adventures, focussed instead on searching for the details that wove Mitchell's six, seemingly disparate, stories into one narrative. While some connections are clever, others are... thin. When the connective story elements are tenuous at best, they detract from the themes that would otherwise elegantly unify each chapter of this soul-journey into one novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Racism, Car accident, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Gun violence, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence
walenchao's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide, Infidelity, and Violence
balfies's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Cloud Atlas is famously structured like a matryoshka doll with six very different stories, with the protagonist of each tale a reincarnation of the previous story's narrator. Mitchell's ability to craft distinct voices through genre and form is admirable, and he interweaves then with variable success. Some stories are obviously stronger than others - I really got into the Luisa Rey mystery and the clone ethics in Sonmi-451's neo-Seoul uprising.
It also gave me a lot to reflect on the process of adaptation, as I'd seen the Wachowskis' 2012 film version which is far weaker in narrative structure.
Feel like I need all of the strands of this to settle in me properly before I can navigate their meaning. Overall enjoyable prose, but I found the philosophy tenuous and purpose slightly unclear.
It also gave me a lot to reflect on the process of adaptation, as I'd seen the Wachowskis' 2012 film version which is far weaker in narrative structure.
Feel like I need all of the strands of this to settle in me properly before I can navigate their meaning. Overall enjoyable prose, but I found the philosophy tenuous and purpose slightly unclear.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Racial slurs, and Slavery
marissasa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Cloud Atlas is a long, sweeping narrative with each chapter about a different person who is a reincarnation of the previous chapter's main character and the ways they are all interconnected despite existing in different eras experiencing wildly different situations. The theory was very cool to me and I was intrigued by the way that the book doesn't spell out any of the world-building sci-fi elements clearly, leaving the whole reincarnation idea up to interpretation for the most part. However, out of the 6 main characters, 4 were white men whose stories really paled in comparison to the 2 women's chapters. Luisa and especially Sonmi-451 carried this book in my opinion. While their chapters were engaging, action-packed, and full of social commentary, I felt the other chapters dragged on and were far less memorable. I even felt like the first character we were introduced to was by far the least interesting, which made it tough to read since his chapters were the very first one and the last one. Although I liked the premise I just wanted more in the execution from this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Body horror, Sexual content, Biphobia, Child death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence