? Wha! You mixed up books here or what!?

Tanuj wrote: "? Wha! You mixed up books here or what!?"

??

Oh! I am dense, sorry. You are referring to my 08/17 status update. Haha, yes, I was just playing around about The Savage Detectives. Sorry for being slow!

Okay, so I really actually did tear up with this review. Just beautiful man. I can't wait to reread this book. Thank you.

Simply smashing review. OK, I must read more Mitchell.

maybe i'll re-read before the movie... i'm so glad you liked it!

Oh jeez, guys, wow. Thank you. Really.
Janice, I am skeeeeeeered this movie is going to reduce this novel to sappy sap sapness!
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cloud...

probably, but i'm curious as to how they are going to do it. the preview looked promising.

I'm afraid they'll focus too much on the "connected souls" theory, which I really think is just a minor part of the book, but one that could easily be expanded because of the way you can use it to pull moviegoers' heartstrings. But I will keep an open mind!

Yes, 5 stars woohoo! Glad you liked this! And now I want some new Fringe after the Fringe-into in the video.
New favorite author? Awesome. I'm giddy with excitement that you loved this book.

I am reading your review now! (I held off until I finished reading/reviewing it...)

Yay!

Brilliant review, Jason.

Yes, this is beautiful.

Jason wrote: "Oh jeez, guys, wow. Thank you. Really.
Janice, I am skeeeeeeered this movie is going to reduce this novel to sappy sap sapness!
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cloud..."

....how on earth are they going to film this? Bzuh

I like that Sloosha's was your favorite too, it seems everyone has a different favorite which really speaks to how good each story is.

I might periodically stop by to unlike this review just so I can like it over and over again. I'm so glad (but not at all surprised) that you loved this.

THANK YOU!! I totally loved it. It is definitely not going to be my last Mitchell.

Sloosha's Crossin' was my least favorite. maybe. the first one wasn't super great either.

i liked this book a lot, but i'm still not sure what point the nested narratives/continuing souls theme actually serves. it's kind of arbitrary, save for giving a few sections a nice bit of resonance. mostly i think the book is a great way for mitchell to show off his skill at writing in multiple voices and genres.

my biggest takeaway, and this might be just me, was more to do with appreciating the way the book suggests the possibility of immortality in some form, whether through literal reincarnation of the resonance of our lives and deeds. because i think dying sucks not so much because i fear what comes after, but because i won't be around to see what happens later here. like, who will my great-grandchildren be? what will happen to our world? what new technology will develop that will make today seem like the 1800s seem to us? What artistic works yet to be created am i going to miss out on by being dead?

i want to know what happens after, basically. cloud atlas shows us what happens to everyone after, all the way to the end of civilization and back.

there, i finally kind of wrote was i was going to say in the review i never wrote.

er, but double post to say good on recognizing how the far-future portion mirrors the distant past portion. it makes me want to complex 3-d model of the narrative.

Joel, maybe you should copy and paste that into a review. You are overdue for one!

I agree with what you say about the range of Mitchell's writing. It is what impressed me most. Each of those vignettes/novellas could have easily been written by a different author.

The whole reincarnated souls thing, though...that was cool but it isn't what drew me in. I think Penkevich mentions in his review that he hits you over the head with it and for me, it was more of a background aspect of the novel. I liked the whole scope of civilization being threatened by the very thing that started it, and I think that's what I liked about the middle chapter so much, because it really bridged everything, and it had some really great Meronym quotes. Not the easiest to read, though...

41 votes in one day, More Rays! You're the new Stephen!

How did you do the smart quotes in your review? Don't tell me you have the html memorized for left and right quote marks. (Or did you copy from a word processing program?)

Not that the smart quotes are the only thing that impressed me about this review. The rest of it was completely adequate too.

42 now, David, and—as per our "happy/non-happy" discussion—I would not have been "happy" until I got yours. Thank you for making me happy.

Ha! I actually compose reviews using Google Docs, which automatically transcribes quotes into smart quotes. BUT. In fact, I do also happen to know the html codes:

“ (“)

” (”)

Somehow I knew you would, More Rays. :)

I really hate dumb quotes. They're ugly.

This is also ugly.

Not as ugly as dumb quotes though.

This is also ugly.
And is the physical manifestation of all my nightmares ever. Ew.

47 Likes in one day!
Legendary!
Keep spreading the good word of Mitchell! I like exclaiming!

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!!

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Awesome review Jason! I'm glad you liked this book! Also thanks for making me now want to watch Fringe. :)

I have yet to see Fringe myself! I watched the first few episodes with Cristina and then we decided to wait and watch it altogether like we did for LOST. But then it got pushed to the back burner because we got busy with other stuff...like reading. Maybe next year after the final season airs we'll sit down and watch the whole thing.

You definitely should it is a fantastic show. I'm bummed that this season will be the end it feels like it is going to be very different from the other seasons.

I second mi hermana, it is excellent!

s.penkevich wrote: "I second mi hermana, it is excellent!"

You sir need to get caught up!

Season 4 is out on DVD this week. I plan on renting it from Family Video and banking on them going out of business before I have to return it.

i think they are on netflix. they usually add the most recent season when the new one starts.

That is a brilliant plan hermano... I expect a copy if it happens just saying.

Be prepared to delete the photos, if requested by the copyright holders.

Haha, Jonathan cross thread! I did at least give that one a copyright Justin Casey.

I'm not looking forward to the film, but I may have an irresistible urge to see it anyway.

As for the reincarnated souls aspect, his earlier novel "Ghostwritten" (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68...) explores similar ideas, but in a a less gimmicky (single genre) form.

You liked everything which I did not like about this book but I've given you a likey like anyway!

Thank you, my little monkey! (I read yours when I finished it and completely disagreed, but also gave you a likey.) :D

I think there is a subset of those who found this gimmicky, and maybe it is, but I loved it anyway. I do agree that the Luisa Rey one is a little pulpy and Dan Brown–ish, but it is the overarching connectedness to the rest of the novel that makes it "ace in the face" in my book.

And the writing! His writing is exceptional.

And another subset who think it gimmicky - and enjoy it in spite AND because of that.

I read a review once, I think it was for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close—but I don't remember whose review it was—that basically said "gimmicky" is just another word for "I don't like it." Because if you do like it, then you don't find it gimmicky, right?

I don't know if I completely agree with that, but the basic part of that makes sense, I think. I found it not gimmicky at all, though. I think the storytelling style is unique.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, on the other hand, is gimmicky. :D

Jason wrote: "I read a review once, I think it was for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close—but I don't remember whose review it was—that basically said "gimmicky" is just another word for "I don't like it." Beca..."

Good point, I feel 'pretentious' is another word that, like 'gimmicky', is used far to freely in place of where a mere 'it wasn't for me' could have been a far better and more thought provoking phrase. It almost dismisses any further conversation. Not that there aren't gimmicky and pretentious books though. I thought this one surpased gimmick by giving so much meaning to the ideas behind the so-called gimmick. Something like The Unfortunates, on the other hand, were gimmicky, but used the gimmick for a reason. Then yes, there is just books that aren't anything past the gimmick. Extremely Loud no good? I thought the book The People of Paper to be one that relied to heavily on the gimmick and thus became nothing more than that. Wow, I'm tired and rambling, hope this made sense.

For me, it was a gimmick that paid off; in the hands of a lesser writer, it would merely be one big (or lots of smaller?) gimmick(s).

EL&IC was gimmicky for me, yes definitely, but it has worked well for others, so I wouldn't want you to not read it on my account, Penk.

I will steal and use the phrase "ace in my face " from this day forth!