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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Wish the stories were just a tiny bit more relevant to each other instead of being glorified MCU style cameos. the only stories that really connected in a satisfying way were the dystopia and the elderly home.
each story was a delight to read though
each story was a delight to read though
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
LOVED this book. Mitchell does an incredible job of telling an interesting story from multiple points of view, each of which has a very strong and distinct voice. This book was very different. If you don't love the story, you'll love the writing. If you don't love the writing, you'll love the story.
I do not know how David Mitchell pulled that off! Varied timelines, genres and languages all in one novel, addressing the same themes of humanity and power; and it worked. While it did take me a bit to get the gist of what was going on, once I did, it left you marveling at what talented writers can do. Cloud Atlas is a unique reading experience, and one that will be with me for sometime to come.
I had a hard time getting into this book -- there were a few false starts that never made it more than 5 pages in. I finally had the time to get interested on the plane to Hawaii, and I read most of it while were on vacation.
The book is made up of 6 nested stories in different time periods. All the stories are connected to each other, in both subtle and obvious ways. The dystopian future segment reminded me of Margaret Atwood's Oryx & Crake and its sequel -- genetic engineering, cloning, rampant consumer consumption. One of the themes that connects each story to the others is how consistently human beings prey on those who are weaker than they are, not matter how "civilized" the world has become. So, not exactly a hopeful story about the world's future, but fascinating.
One passage that grabbed me was this one; it simultaneously describes the way the stories of the book are nested together:
"* Exposition: the workings of the actual past + the virtual past may be illustrated by an event known to collective history, such as the sinking of the Titanic. The disaster as it actually occurred descends into obscurity as its eyewitnesses die off, documents perish + the wreck of the ship dissolves in its Atlantic grave. Yet a virtual sinking of the Titanic, created from reworked memories, papers, hearsay, fiction -- in short, belief -- grows ever "truer." The actual past is brittle, ever-dimming + ever more problematic to access + reconstruct; in contract, the virtual past is malleable, ever-brightening + ever more difficult to circumvent/expose as fraudulent.
* The present presses the virtual past into its own service, to lend credence to its mythologies + legitimacy to the imposition of will. Power seeks + is the right to landscape the virtual past (he who pays the historian calls the tune).
* Symmetry demands an actual + virtual future, too. We imagine how next week, next year, or 2225 will shape up - a virtual future, constructed by wishes, prophecies + daydreams. This virtual future, constructed by wishes, prophecies + daydreams. This virtual future may influence the actual future, as in a self-fulfilling prophecy, but the actual future will eclipse our virutal oneas surely as tomorrow eclipses today. Like Utopia, the actual future + the actual past exist only int he hazy distance, where they are no good to anyone.
* Q: Is there a meaningful distinction between one simulacrum of smoke, mirrors + shadows - the actual past - from another such simulacrum - the actual future?
* One model of time: an infinite matryoshka doll of painted moments, each "shell" (the present) encased inside a nest of "shells" (previous presents) I call the actual past but which we perceive as the virtual past. The doll of "now" likewise encases a nest of presents yet to be, which I call the actual future but which we perceive as the virtual future."
The book is made up of 6 nested stories in different time periods. All the stories are connected to each other, in both subtle and obvious ways. The dystopian future segment reminded me of Margaret Atwood's Oryx & Crake and its sequel -- genetic engineering, cloning, rampant consumer consumption. One of the themes that connects each story to the others is how consistently human beings prey on those who are weaker than they are, not matter how "civilized" the world has become. So, not exactly a hopeful story about the world's future, but fascinating.
One passage that grabbed me was this one; it simultaneously describes the way the stories of the book are nested together:
"* Exposition: the workings of the actual past + the virtual past may be illustrated by an event known to collective history, such as the sinking of the Titanic. The disaster as it actually occurred descends into obscurity as its eyewitnesses die off, documents perish + the wreck of the ship dissolves in its Atlantic grave. Yet a virtual sinking of the Titanic, created from reworked memories, papers, hearsay, fiction -- in short, belief -- grows ever "truer." The actual past is brittle, ever-dimming + ever more problematic to access + reconstruct; in contract, the virtual past is malleable, ever-brightening + ever more difficult to circumvent/expose as fraudulent.
* The present presses the virtual past into its own service, to lend credence to its mythologies + legitimacy to the imposition of will. Power seeks + is the right to landscape the virtual past (he who pays the historian calls the tune).
* Symmetry demands an actual + virtual future, too. We imagine how next week, next year, or 2225 will shape up - a virtual future, constructed by wishes, prophecies + daydreams. This virtual future, constructed by wishes, prophecies + daydreams. This virtual future may influence the actual future, as in a self-fulfilling prophecy, but the actual future will eclipse our virutal oneas surely as tomorrow eclipses today. Like Utopia, the actual future + the actual past exist only int he hazy distance, where they are no good to anyone.
* Q: Is there a meaningful distinction between one simulacrum of smoke, mirrors + shadows - the actual past - from another such simulacrum - the actual future?
* One model of time: an infinite matryoshka doll of painted moments, each "shell" (the present) encased inside a nest of "shells" (previous presents) I call the actual past but which we perceive as the virtual past. The doll of "now" likewise encases a nest of presents yet to be, which I call the actual future but which we perceive as the virtual future."
I really liked this book in the end. I was hoping for an over-arching something to tie the stories together rather than just stories within stories. Several of the characters shared a specific characteristic, and I was left thinking "Well? WELL?" Guess you just have to figure it out on your own. I liked the middle four stories the most, particularly 1975 California and far-future Korea. The very distant Hawaii I found pretty tiresome. It was well-written, but the way people speak and the fact that the narrator wasn't very intelligent left a lot to be desired. I wanted to really know what the world has become after so many centuries!
Loved this book! The beginning its a little slow, but push through-it's worth it! I feel sad that it's over now. I recommend this to anyone I know.
This time around, the most prevalent theme to me was how consumerism, corporate greed, slavery were linked. Scary when we keep in mind the news of the day.
I am not going to write a big review on this. I have yet to get better at formulating a well rational or just in general a good review. So please sorry if it is bad lol.
It is a book that will stick with me, that is for sure. Although the first chapter was an actual slog to get through it, but after that my interest and passion for it became higher and higher the further I went into the book. It was the first book in YEARS that I actually read and fully completed.
6 stories intertwined in some kind of make-it-your-own type off meaning. I loved it. I found meaning. Although very literal sometimes, it invites your mind to explore and experience things in ways you don’t understand fully with your own hearts content.
It is a must read. It delves into the sublime of the endless of life and time in which I have not seen before in any way. It gives u a chance for empathy for each and then connect it. Wow
I call this a literary phenomenon, not perfect but art never is.
It is a book that will stick with me, that is for sure. Although the first chapter was an actual slog to get through it, but after that my interest and passion for it became higher and higher the further I went into the book. It was the first book in YEARS that I actually read and fully completed.
6 stories intertwined in some kind of make-it-your-own type off meaning. I loved it. I found meaning. Although very literal sometimes, it invites your mind to explore and experience things in ways you don’t understand fully with your own hearts content.
It is a must read. It delves into the sublime of the endless of life and time in which I have not seen before in any way. It gives u a chance for empathy for each and then connect it. Wow
I call this a literary phenomenon, not perfect but art never is.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated