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cailinmaee 's review for:
Cloud Atlas
by David Mitchell
3.5/5
I have mixed feeling about this book. I thought the format David Mitchell chose was unique and challenging in a really great way. I enjoyed how the book revealed its form to the reader slowly, and only through a bit of persistence. There were six stories written in different styles, set in different times and places.
That being said, I did find some of the stories stronger than others. If each had been published alone, I'm not sure they would have stood on their own. I didn't love the writing style chosen for each of these stories--some were distracting and took the energy out of the narrative.
I also have concerns about how a white author chose to represent indigenous communities. I understand that some of the overt racism and descriptions of colonization were written on purpose to expose the flawed logic and horrific consequences inherent in them, but the perspective provided was often based on heavy-handed and two-dimensional stereotypes.
All in all, I'm fairly neutral. There were elements that kept my attention and elements that didn't. An imperfect attempt at an interesting concept.
I have mixed feeling about this book. I thought the format David Mitchell chose was unique and challenging in a really great way. I enjoyed how the book revealed its form to the reader slowly, and only through a bit of persistence. There were six stories written in different styles, set in different times and places.
That being said, I did find some of the stories stronger than others. If each had been published alone, I'm not sure they would have stood on their own. I didn't love the writing style chosen for each of these stories--some were distracting and took the energy out of the narrative.
I also have concerns about how a white author chose to represent indigenous communities. I understand that some of the overt racism and descriptions of colonization were written on purpose to expose the flawed logic and horrific consequences inherent in them, but the perspective provided was often based on heavy-handed and two-dimensional stereotypes.
All in all, I'm fairly neutral. There were elements that kept my attention and elements that didn't. An imperfect attempt at an interesting concept.