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bookish_bry's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-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? No
5.0
I have been flipping back and forth between a 4.75 and a 5 star review for a while now because I did not love all of the 6 stories that take place in this book. However, the 6 stories have such distinctly different styles and stories while still reaching out to touch each other. The choice to have the stories nested in one another was great.
At times this book was difficult to read. The first story is from the far past (and it reads like it) and the 6th story is from the far future (and is just as difficult to read except I cannot look up the definitions of the words I don't know since they don't actually exist). Some were a lot easier to read like the 3rd and 4th stories which take place in the 1970s and early 2000s. There is a certain charm to that, but a reader has to try to stick with it. It took me to the third story to get truly intrigued with the narrative (though that perhaps has something to do a big indicator of the connection between these stories being introduced: Sixsmith's participation and the birth-mark ). Once I was invested though, it was much easier to get myself through the parts that were harder to read.
I want to eventually re-read this book (after sitting on it for a while). I am certain I will see more references between stories and secrets upon subsequent re-reads. I especially feel I will enjoy the first two chapters more the next time I read.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this is eventually deemed a classic because of the richness of its themes and its structure.
More for myself, I am going to rank the stories on how I viewed them upon my first reading from favorite to least favorite.
1. "Half Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery"- This one was just fun (and easier) to read. I love that we got to see Sixsmith in person after having all of the letters written to him in "Letters from Zedelghem." It somehow both reads as a self-contained novela (where some stories felt they didn't stand quite as well on their own) while also being the one that made the connections to the other stories the most obvious. The ending would have been a little bit predictable if it was a stand alone, but within Cloud Atlas, it was a good ending. It didn't blow my mind, but it was solid. Also, it was nice that it ended with a real and true victory for our main character (if not most of the other characters in this part).
2. "The Orison of Sonmi-451"- This was actually my least favorite part for a long time. It's an extremely predictable narrative of future-sci-fi-made-programed-slave-race goes rogue and rebels against the system that we've seen entire novels dedicated to before. I did always like the format of it being an interview with a prisoner before her execution, but the story itself never was really anything special. But then the ending. The ending. It was my favorite ending of all of the stories. It was revealed that not only was The Union a set up by the corporation run government to make everyone hate abolitionists, but it was also revealed that Sonmi was already aware. She wrote her tenants knowing that soon after, the government would arrest her. She knew it was hopeless for her, but did her best to make it so her message was spread far and wide in the hopes it would sow the seeds of freedom for others. In the end she was the only character in the story who was not a slave even if she died at the end.
3. "The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish"- This story was entertaining because the first half and the second half felt very different. In the first half Timothy is down on his luck. Life isn't going his way even when it seems to be going his way. For every good thing that happens, 10 bad things seem to happen. The end of the first part is horrifying as he's forced into an abusive nursing home and his autonomy is stripped from him with no recourse. And then in the second half... it becomes a heist movie. Like, sure, the abuse is still clearly there, but it ends up being hilarious as these old assholes put their skills together to come up with a multi-step plan to escape. It was just a romp by the end especially in the bar. I'm glad Timothy got a new lease on life afterwards and enjoys his freedom.
4. "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing"- This was a solid story, though I probably wouldn't have liked it on its own too much. It was a bit bland at times and it was clear Adam was being poisoned from the beginning. It think it's end makes a great end for the entire book however as it seems to tie all of the stories together and seems to present the thesis of the book. Basically, we decide how the world is. If we decide it's horrible and there is no recourse, then it is. However, if we choose to believe the world can be good, maybe it can be.
5. "Sloosha's Crossin' An' EV'Rythin' After"- The style of this chapter made it hard to read, I wasn't a big fan of the narrator, and the world was just... bleak. Of course, I guess it fills it's narrative purpose of telling the reader that this is what the world is if you let it be. It wasn't a bad story, but it wasn't my favorite.
6. "Letters from Zedelghem"- I think I need to re-read this part. I didn't quite get how this story fit with the overall theme of the narrative and I feel like I didn't really get the main character. The ending with him committing suicide didn't quite make sense to me in context. Again, maybe I'll change my mind upon a re-read, but this was the one that didn't resonate with me the most.
At times this book was difficult to read. The first story is from the far past (and it reads like it) and the 6th story is from the far future (and is just as difficult to read except I cannot look up the definitions of the words I don't know since they don't actually exist). Some were a lot easier to read like the 3rd and 4th stories which take place in the 1970s and early 2000s. There is a certain charm to that, but a reader has to try to stick with it. It took me to the third story to get truly intrigued with the narrative (though that perhaps has something to do a big indicator of the connection between these stories being introduced:
I want to eventually re-read this book (after sitting on it for a while). I am certain I will see more references between stories and secrets upon subsequent re-reads. I especially feel I will enjoy the first two chapters more the next time I read.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this is eventually deemed a classic because of the richness of its themes and its structure.
More for myself, I am going to rank the stories on how I viewed them upon my first reading from favorite to least favorite.
1. "Half Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery"- This one was just fun (and easier) to read. I love that we got to see Sixsmith in person after having all of the letters written to him in "Letters from Zedelghem." It somehow both reads as a self-contained novela (where some stories felt they didn't stand quite as well on their own) while also being the one that made the connections to the other stories the most obvious. The ending would have been a little bit predictable if it was a stand alone, but within Cloud Atlas, it was a good ending. It didn't blow my mind, but it was solid. Also, it was nice that it ended with a real and true victory for our main character (if not most of the other characters in this part).
2. "The Orison of Sonmi-451"- This was actually my least favorite part for a long time. It's an extremely predictable narrative of future-sci-fi-made-programed-slave-race goes rogue and rebels against the system that we've seen entire novels dedicated to before. I did always like the format of it being an interview with a prisoner before her execution, but the story itself never was really anything special. But then the ending. The ending. It was my favorite ending of all of the stories. It was revealed that not only was The Union a set up by the corporation run government to make everyone hate abolitionists, but it was also revealed that Sonmi was already aware. She wrote her tenants knowing that soon after, the government would arrest her. She knew it was hopeless for her, but did her best to make it so her message was spread far and wide in the hopes it would sow the seeds of freedom for others. In the end she was the only character in the story who was not a slave even if she died at the end.
3. "The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish"- This story was entertaining because the first half and the second half felt very different. In the first half Timothy is down on his luck. Life isn't going his way even when it seems to be going his way. For every good thing that happens, 10 bad things seem to happen. The end of the first part is horrifying as he's forced into an abusive nursing home and his autonomy is stripped from him with no recourse. And then in the second half... it becomes a heist movie. Like, sure, the abuse is still clearly there, but it ends up being hilarious as these old assholes put their skills together to come up with a multi-step plan to escape. It was just a romp by the end especially in the bar. I'm glad Timothy got a new lease on life afterwards and enjoys his freedom.
4. "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing"- This was a solid story, though I probably wouldn't have liked it on its own too much. It was a bit bland at times and it was clear Adam was being poisoned from the beginning. It think it's end makes a great end for the entire book however as it seems to tie all of the stories together and seems to present the thesis of the book. Basically, we decide how the world is. If we decide it's horrible and there is no recourse, then it is. However, if we choose to believe the world can be good, maybe it can be.
5. "Sloosha's Crossin' An' EV'Rythin' After"- The style of this chapter made it hard to read, I wasn't a big fan of the narrator, and the world was just... bleak. Of course, I guess it fills it's narrative purpose of telling the reader that this is what the world is if you let it be. It wasn't a bad story, but it wasn't my favorite.
6. "Letters from Zedelghem"- I think I need to re-read this part. I didn't quite get how this story fit with the overall theme of the narrative and I feel like I didn't really get the main character. The ending with him committing suicide didn't quite make sense to me in context. Again, maybe I'll change my mind upon a re-read, but this was the one that didn't resonate with me the most.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Violence, Colonisation, Suicide, Classism, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Confinement
Moderate: Rape, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Excrement and Torture
thembojoebiden's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Suicide
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Rape
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
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