I must read this! Many friends of mine gave it 5 stars.

Emilian wrote: "I must read this! Many friends of mine gave it 5 stars."

I really loved it -- people seem to either love it or hate it. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think! Have you read any other books by Mitchell?

For me it was 5 stars also.

I'm really looking forward to your review Kris.

Thanks, Mosca! I am hoping to finish the review this weekend. So glad you loved Cloud Atlas too.

I'm excited to see your review Kris!

Thanks Megan!

No pressure but if a review comes out, here is my placeholder :) I know it'll be great.

Thanks Stephen! I am just trying to finish The Master and Margarita review right now, and then Cloud Atlas is next.

Terrific review, Kris! I love how detailed you were in pointing out the cultural and historical theme of the novel. It's a shame when people don't realize how much is in that novel. Great job in pointing them out!

Aloha wrote: "Terrific review, Kris! I love how detailed you were in pointing out the cultural and historical theme of the novel. It's a shame when people don't realize how much is in that novel. Great job in..."

Thanks Aloha! I had been aware of those themes, but the more I thought and dug and reflected, the more they resonated. It was a lot of fun to explore them.

*****

Thanks Scribble. I'm relieved to have finished the review -- for a while, I was worried it would finish me. :)

Amazing review. I understand and appreciate the book so much better now.

Thanks Aubrey!

Amazing work of scholarship. Well done. That was quite the reading experience. I've been riding a Mitchell high ever since I finished the movie last night and read you and s.penke's reviews today.

Stephen M wrote: "Amazing work of scholarship. Well done. That was quite the reading experience. I've been riding a Mitchell high ever since I finished the movie last night and read you and s.penke's reviews today."

Thanks, Stephen. You're one of my Mitchell experts, and your opinion means a lot.

Very nice, indeed. But, then, who would have expected less? Always a pleasure reading your reviews.

Mike wrote: "Very nice, indeed. But, then, who would have expected less? Always a pleasure reading your reviews."

Thanks so much, Mike -- you're making me smile, as always.

I've been wanting to read DM, but I've decided that if I wait a week or two, absolutely everyone else in the world will have read him first. A plan of sorts.

Mike wrote: "I've been wanting to read DM, but I've decided that if I wait a week or two, absolutely everyone else in the world will have read him first. A plan of sorts."

Laughing here -- you will be the last reviewer standing!

That last passage really is awe-inspiring, isn't it? I love the photos. Also glad that this stood up to a second reating, Kris. I know you read critically but this one also speaks to the heart. And you've got both. Great review!

Mike wrote: "I've been wanting to read DM, but I've decided that if I wait a week or two, absolutely everyone else in the world will have read him first. A plan of sorts."

Yes, it's true. We've all been seduced, one way or another.

Jason wrote: "That last passage really is awe-inspiring, isn't it? I love the photos. Also glad that this stood up to a second reating, Kris. I know you read critically but this one also speaks to the heart. And..."

Thanks Jason, my fellow appreciator of Sloosha's Crossin'. :)

Your comment means a lot to me. And I really wanted to combine an intellectual with an emotional response to the novel. So thank you, Jason!

Fantastic synthesis! I appreciate the success of your our ethnographic historical skills to unpuzzle a blooming buzzing virtual world spread across the 4th dimension of time.

Still trying to digest that important bit about virtual and actual past and future, which you helped me a lot in elucidating. The power of people to make a virtual future into an actual one represents the hopeful piece of human power, as you illustrate with the first man Adam's goal at the end. (It took Diamond a whole other book, Collapse, to reach such lines of hope, and then only at its end).

Swimming against the tide of destructive power and greed means something. One who had a lot of trouble was Cavendish. A lot of uncovered metaphors in that comic horror story. Lot of disappeared people in that gulag of modern society. Yet another way history can get rewritten.

What goes round, comes around. It that the key to your Easter Egg of the return of Gonwanaland? Six inhabited continents (like 6 stories) returning to a unified land mass. Love, love your images to illustrate your brilliant analysis.

Michael wrote: "Fantastic synthesis! I appreciate the success of your our ethnographic historical skills to unpuzzle a blooming buzzing virtual world spread across the 4th dimension of time.

Still trying to di..."

Thank you so much for your very thoughtful and kind comments, Michael. I'm so glad you mention Cavendish -- I gave that story short shrift here (was up against character limits) -- but I agree, there's much to be gained from reading that story carefully. There was a quote I almost included: "“ ‘Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty.’ ” Warlock-Williams
looked at me as if I had spoken in tongues. “Solzhenitsyn.”" I agree that novella acts as a comic microcosm of all sorts of larger misuses of power on a global scale.

Re. your last question -- I think there is a sense of retribution to some abusers of power in Cloud Atlas. Mitchell avoids a completely cyclical view of history -- I think he sees history as more of a spiral, with some factors of human existence, like greed and lust for power, occurring and recurring, but with some room for us to see some movement over time through our engagement in the virtual past and virtual future. The question is, will we move that spiral in the direction of progress, or in the direction of disaster? Mitchell leaves that door open.

OMG. You have transcended the review and have invented a new genre of review--the novella review. This review itself is a WILL TO POWER. More after I re-read.

Steve wrote: "OMG. You have transcended the review and have invented a new genre of review--the novella review. This review itself is a WILL TO POWER. More after I re-read."

Laughing here. I promise not to let the Will to Power go to my head.

Steve wrote: "OMG. You have transcended the review and have invented a new genre of review--the novella review. This review itself is a WILL TO POWER. More after I re-read."

You better copyright that term quick. Everyone's going to be claiming it.

Great review, Kris. Your paragraph about language is very insightful. Plus I like how you used it to segue into the sub-theme of a "quest":

"That quest to understand, and the impact of discovering points I had in common with Zachry, speak to a larger theme -- continuity in some aspects of human culture over time, and the necessity of preserving and understanding the past as much as possible, even as it recedes from us in time."

Instead of the quest to understand (perhaps, wisdom results from continuity of knowledge and understanding over time), many of the other characters are questing after power, fame and fortune.

I loved the challenge of diving into Zachry’s language, identifying unfamiliar words, and considering what social factors led to their creation. I felt like an ethnographer, listening carefully to stories told by an informant from a very different world, and finding clues to recreate that world.

Yes, this is why I read. Well said.

We think of an atlas as a book that guides us through unfamiliar terrain and captures the contours of mountains and valleys, the depths of seas and lakes. An atlas of clouds suggests something much more ephemeral -- clouds are constantly moving, shifting, transforming, and eventually dissipating into the ether. Mitchell’s conception of history is built on a sense of constant movement and change. Even as we try to capture the past in works of history, literature, and art, we change and transform its meaning to fit our present.

All things flow, nothing abides. You cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters are ever flowing on to you. We are and we are not. The universe is a vast Becoming. Multiplicity, variety, change are as real as unity, identity, being; the many are as reals as the One. The Many are the One; every change is a passage of things towards or from the condition of Fire. The One is the many; in the very heart of Fire flickers restless change. (Heraclitus)

Kris, your last paragraph is also excellent.

Within the continuum of Free Will and Determinism, it's almost suggesting that inaction makes us an accomplice to Determinism or, at least, someone else's Will.

Ian wrote: "Great review, Kris. Your paragraph about language is very insightful. Plus I like how you used it to segue into the sub-theme of a "quest":

"That quest to understand, and the impact of discovering..."

Thanks so much, Ian. I think that an interesting part of Cloud Atlas is Mitchell's coverage of how future generations transform the wisdom of the past. I had an entire section looking at that issue, particularly tracing the role of religion in Sloosha's Crossing and how knowledge from past societies transformed over time, particularly into religious belief. (Trying to avoid spoilers here, so sorry if I am seeming vague.) It leads to questions about the extent to which continuity with the past is possible -- and are we looking at continuity with the actual past or, more commonly, with the virtual past?

Is there any form of power than can combat corporate and governmental power and greed? Luisa Rey presents another form of power: that of public outrage, driven by the media, which can provide a counterweight to greed that acts against the public interest. However, what happens when the media is co-opted by the same corporate powers which it should be scrutinizing?


The Power of Books (and Readers)? A check and balance against corporate powers? "When I picture a perfect reader, I always picture a monster of courage and curiosity, also something supple, cunning, cautious, a born adventurer and discoverer." Nietzsche

Steve wrote: "I loved the challenge of diving into Zachry’s language, identifying unfamiliar words, and considering what social factors led to their creation. I felt like an ethnographer, listening carefully to ..."

Thank you, Steve. I loved this section -- it was my favorite part of Cloud Atlas (people seem to love it or hate it). I love ethnographies, and enjoyed the challenge of understanding Zachry's world view.

Steve wrote: "All things flow, nothing abides. You cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters are ever flowing on to you. We are and we are not. The universe is a vast Becoming. Multiplicity, variety, change are as real as unity, identity, being; the many are as reals as the One. The Many are the One; every change is a passage of things towards or from the condition of Fire. The One is the many; in the very heart of Fire flickers restless change. (Heraclitus)

Perfect passage to quote, Steve!

Formidable Kris! your power grows daily... first you take amazon, then you take goodreads. Hmm if this thread were a musical...

They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
For trying to change the system from within
I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
I'm guided by a signal in the heavens
I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin
I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

Ian wrote: "Kris, your last paragraph is also excellent.

Within the continuum of Free Will and Determinism, it's almost suggesting that inaction makes us an accomplice to Determinism or, at least, someone els..."

Definitely -- inaction is a form of action. It's a decision. Mitchell is holding us all accountable. If we are not acting to oppose unjust acts and people and regimes, we make up the forces supporting them.

B0nnie wrote: "Formidable Kris! your power grows daily... first you take amazon, then you take goodreads. Hmm if this thread were a musical...

They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
For trying to change th..."

Bonnie, not only do you write wonderfully creative and engaging reviews, but you also do the same in your comments. I love the connections you draw -- and it helps when I have a wonderful standard going through my head. Thank you!

B0nnie wrote: "Formidable Kris! your power grows daily... first you take amazon, then you take goodreads. Hmm if this thread were a musical..."

I can just imagine Bonnie as Jennifer Warnes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0rZ2C...

And Steve could be Stevie Ray Vaughan

Steve wrote: "The Power of Books (and Readers)? A check and balance against corporate powers? "When I picture a perfect reader, I always picture a monster of courage and curiosity, also something supple, cunning, cautious, a born adventurer and discoverer." Nietzsche ."

Also perfect, Steve! I held off on mentioning Nietzsche specifically because other GR reviewers covered his influence so well, but this quotation is absolutely perfect. I think it's important that Mitchell is addressing the Luisa Rey section to his readers during a time when we see almost all of the US media in thrall to corporate powers. I think he's calling on us to engage actively in the fight against corporate and political corruption.

B0nnie wrote: "I'm guided by a signal in the heavens
I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin "

Bonnie, I'm totally jealous of this lyric spotting.

Thanks Kris! you've set a new standard for quotes, lol. I shall never again hold back!

Individuals are not swept aside by the forces of history--one by one, we make up these forces. The actual future of our species and our planet is in our hands. Will we act for a just world, or sit back and contribute to the demise of our planet through inaction, or greed, or cowardice? These pivotal questions, and this critical choice, give Cloud Atlas its power.

I like it when a book increases my courage and a reason to exercise it--the freedom of self-determination (freedom of choice)rather than determinism (external forces eliminating my freedom). Whether it's illusion or not--I need to believe. I need books like oxygen.

B0nnie wrote: "Thanks Kris! you've set a new standard for quotes, lol. I shall never again hold back!"

Laughing here! I know I went overboard, but compared to the quotes I started out with, I thought I was being (relatively) restrained. :)

Ian, I would kill to be able to sing like that.

Steve wrote: "I like it when a book increases my courage and a reason to exercise it--the freedom of self-determination (freedom of choice)rather than determinism (external forces eliminating my freedom). Whether it's illusion or not--I need to believe. I need books like oxygen. "

I agree -- and I like this model of reading as active engagement -- we gain knowledge and inspiration, and then it is incumbent on us to act.

I would love to read & rave, Kris. But I haven't read the book yet, and I hope to, one of these days. So I will just take this bouquet of accolades as convincing evidence that once again you have excelled in reviewing.

Richard wrote: "I would love to read & rave, Kris. But I haven't read the book yet, and I hope to, one of these days. So I will just take this bouquet of accolades as convincing evidence that once again you have e..."

You're so kind as always, Richard! I am looking forward to your review once you have read Cloud Atlas. :)

This is an amazing review, Kris. There is so much content and analysis here and yet nothing feels like a typical spoiler. That is good because I was so intrigued by and then enthralled with your review that I could not stop reading it in spite my having no experience with Mitchell. I have been wanting to read him anyway, but between S. Penke's reviews (and fanboy love for D. Mitch) and your review, I need to read him soon. I am getting the impression that he is a monster of our time and feel the need to start with Ghostwritten and move forward.

Wonderful review, thank you!