A review by croisshark
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Cloud Atlas pays homage to the fascinating stories of six distant characters trying to navigate a deeply flawed parallel world. With its unique and intricate narrative structure in which every chapter has a different writing style, the book offers a vivid reimagination of humanity's state and evolution
(or devolution)
across multiple generations. Although this book ventures into so many different directions because of this narrative, it irregardless never shys away from its core purpose: offering a profound proposition on human nature and the inevitable, shared fate of humanity.

One of the best aspects of this book, in my opinion, is how it used its main characters as vehicles for exploring the different human/societal evils present throughout the overall story, and their joint role in
causing the Fall of humanity (e.g., Ch.1 - Racism/Slavery/Colonialism, Ch. 2 - War/Manipulation, Ch. 3 - Environmental Degradation, Scientific Neglect).
I think it was a brilliant portrayal of how all forms of oppression are interconnected and that no one, even the oppressors and bystanders, is ever immune to the repercussions of their actions. I was also truly, truly moved by the respective pains each character experienced
in response to the prevailing human/societal evil of their time (i.e., Adam Ewing learning of the rape and suicide of a young male slave, and Timothy Cavendish regretting his wasted youth now that he's old and unwanted by society)
. The book's dedication to
criticizing and depicting how far unmoderated human greed and indifference can go is nothing less than impressive and provocative.


Even with the book's (many) merits, I did note that there were two main features that could possibly become a source of contention for the average reader. The first would be that the introductory narratives/chapters are considerably slow-paced and detail-heavy due to the worldbuilding. It may take awhile for the overarching message of the book to become clear, as well as for the readers to become genuinely interested in the characters' stories. The second feature would be that the changes in writing styles across certain chapters can be quite jarring. Despite these changes making sense when looking at the book as a whole, the average reader may still occasionally struggle to read and progress through those chapters. 

Nevertheless, I still deeply enjoyed every part of this book! I personally did not feel too bothered by the seemingly sluggish pace at the start and drastic shifts in writing, because I was just completely engrossed by and immersed in the stories being told. If anything, I would even consider these imperfections as hallmarks of the book for their role in helping me better understand the realities that Adam, Robert, Luisa, Timothy, Sonmi-451, and Zachry had to deal with.
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