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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Cloud Atlas is so expansive that it’s hard to attach it to a single genre beyond fiction. It is at times dystopian, pulpy, historical, sci-fi, romantic, epistolary, gonzo, picaresque, thriller… and I could go on. Because it spans so many genres and tells stories within stories within stories, it can certainly be convoluted at times, and when returning to another story thread soooo far after the fact, you’ve forgotten who characters are and why they matter. If someone asked me what this book was *about*, I would be hard-pressed to articulate an easy answer. Even so, I found almost every story compelling and interesting in its own way.
Blows your mind and it's hard work, but amazing and pure genius.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book gives the reader the same satisfaction as solving a complex puzzle. By the time the poignant final sentence is read, the interconnectedness of the six storylines are clear and profound. This is done in a way that, on a personal basis, did not strike me as a gimmick, though I could see this impression varying from reader to reader. What is objectively true is that Mitchell displays an impressive control over the six voices of his characters. Each story is unique, has its own themes that tie into the grander narrative, and any one of them could be a satisfying novella. The best story belongs to Timothy Cavendish, an aged publisher whose unexpected success comes with some nasty consequences. The stories are all so skillfully rendered, however, that I suspect that each reader will come up with their own personal ranking for the chapters.
On a craft level the book is marvelous. Mitchell's knack for description reminds me of the writing of Neal Stephenson. I anticipate that I'll flip through these chapters for the next few years whenever I need inspiration for my own writing. Mitchell is just that good.
The only thing that keeps me from giving this inspirational book five stars is the fact that its dialects often serve as barriers. This is particularly true of Zachry's tale, whose voice is just foreign enough that it feels a bit like reading the original Chaucer. You can almost read the text fluidly, but not quite. It differs just enough to be difficult. The fact that this is the only uninterrupted point of view means that these hundred pages can feel rather arduous.
Beyond that, I have little to no complaints, and plenty of praise to heap on this book.
On a craft level the book is marvelous. Mitchell's knack for description reminds me of the writing of Neal Stephenson. I anticipate that I'll flip through these chapters for the next few years whenever I need inspiration for my own writing. Mitchell is just that good.
The only thing that keeps me from giving this inspirational book five stars is the fact that its dialects often serve as barriers. This is particularly true of Zachry's tale, whose voice is just foreign enough that it feels a bit like reading the original Chaucer. You can almost read the text fluidly, but not quite. It differs just enough to be difficult. The fact that this is the only uninterrupted point of view means that these hundred pages can feel rather arduous.
Beyond that, I have little to no complaints, and plenty of praise to heap on this book.
adventurous
challenging
What a wonderful novel AND a beautiful film! The day I bought this book my roommate asked if I wanted to go see the film and after a lot of internal dialogue made external I decided to see the film before reading the book and it was well worth it. The score of the film was one of the most beautiful I’ve heard in ages and it was also visually stunning.
I knew this would be a good novel because it was only short listed for the Man Booker Prize! It was nominated for and won a few other awards. I’m still convinced, in general, the runners-up on the shortlist are often better than the winners. I have read the winner that year, Alan Hollinghurt’s The Line of Beauty, and although I really enjoyed Hollinghurst’s novel it was a tome and I struggled, so this book was easier to read and I would say more enjoyable for it’s set up and it’s approachability.
One of the quotes on the cover talks about Mitchell’s effortless changing between genres within the novel and that was definitely one of the highlights. Mitchell switches between various fiction forms from historical, contemporary, science and speculative. Of the stories, The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish was my favorite. The film version was hysterical and the book was some how filled with more wit and even more entertaining.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
I knew this would be a good novel because it was only short listed for the Man Booker Prize! It was nominated for and won a few other awards. I’m still convinced, in general, the runners-up on the shortlist are often better than the winners. I have read the winner that year, Alan Hollinghurt’s The Line of Beauty, and although I really enjoyed Hollinghurst’s novel it was a tome and I struggled, so this book was easier to read and I would say more enjoyable for it’s set up and it’s approachability.
One of the quotes on the cover talks about Mitchell’s effortless changing between genres within the novel and that was definitely one of the highlights. Mitchell switches between various fiction forms from historical, contemporary, science and speculative. Of the stories, The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish was my favorite. The film version was hysterical and the book was some how filled with more wit and even more entertaining.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
10/23 - I'm on Page 84 and I hate everyone and would like to shoot myself.
I'm not sure I can make it through another 400 and some odd pages of this.
10/25 - Ok, this book is now fantastic. I'll explain more later. On page 210.
10/30 - So I finally finished this.
It's comprised of 6 stories with a thread running through them. They are presented in such a way that half of each story is at the beginning, there is a whole story in the middle, and the other half are in reverse order at the end, like so. 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2 1.
I'll review each story individually since they are drastically different.
1. Journal of Adam Ewing - Ye gads it's boring
2. Letters from Zedelghem - Also boring and I hate Zedelghem
3. The first Luisa Rey Mystery - Pretty good, a corporate mystery thriller.
4. The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish - I enjoyed it, some parts were pretty funny.
5. An Orison of Sonmi~451 - It's FANTASTIC, I want 600 pages of just this story.
6. Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After - It's a good and interesting story BUT the entire thing is narrated in this post apocalyptic hick dialect that's at times times hard to understand and constantly annoying. I really don't have an issue with authors writing dialogue in a dialect but having the entire narration written in it really took away from the story, for me.
I liked the continuity through each of the stories and how you could see where one contributed to the other. This would be a good book for high school or colleges to use in class for symbolism, setting, foreshadowing, and plot devices, among other things. It was artfully written.
And, just to make it clear, though I did not like some of the stories, that does not take away from the fact that I think Mitchell is a fantastic writer. While I did find two of the stories pretty boring, that's just personal preference, it doesn't take away from the fact that they were very well written, IF you like that type of story.
Mitchell has accomplished something here that is unique and worthwhile.
I'm not sure I can make it through another 400 and some odd pages of this.
10/25 - Ok, this book is now fantastic. I'll explain more later. On page 210.
10/30 - So I finally finished this.
It's comprised of 6 stories with a thread running through them. They are presented in such a way that half of each story is at the beginning, there is a whole story in the middle, and the other half are in reverse order at the end, like so. 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2 1.
I'll review each story individually since they are drastically different.
1. Journal of Adam Ewing - Ye gads it's boring
2. Letters from Zedelghem - Also boring and I hate Zedelghem
3. The first Luisa Rey Mystery - Pretty good, a corporate mystery thriller.
4. The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish - I enjoyed it, some parts were pretty funny.
5. An Orison of Sonmi~451 - It's FANTASTIC, I want 600 pages of just this story.
6. Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After - It's a good and interesting story BUT the entire thing is narrated in this post apocalyptic hick dialect that's at times times hard to understand and constantly annoying. I really don't have an issue with authors writing dialogue in a dialect but having the entire narration written in it really took away from the story, for me.
I liked the continuity through each of the stories and how you could see where one contributed to the other. This would be a good book for high school or colleges to use in class for symbolism, setting, foreshadowing, and plot devices, among other things. It was artfully written.
And, just to make it clear, though I did not like some of the stories, that does not take away from the fact that I think Mitchell is a fantastic writer. While I did find two of the stories pretty boring, that's just personal preference, it doesn't take away from the fact that they were very well written, IF you like that type of story.
Mitchell has accomplished something here that is unique and worthwhile.
Interesting and absorbing and challenging. A great read.
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I had been wanting to read this one for a while, especially after seeing the movie, and really enjoyed reading this one. Probably would have gone with 3 1/2 stars, actually. I loved the concept behind the novel, the way Mitchell had each story seamlessly transitioned to the next and how characters, objects, themes and events kept reappearing throughout. Even though Mitchell split the novel into six main parts, readers really got to know each of the main characters and their stories in great detail.