Classics Without All the Class discussion
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Cloud Atlas
Nov 2012-Cloud Atlas
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Where the stories meet *Major spoilers*
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I think this is true as well:Louisa and her mother lived in Ewingsville, B.Y., connecting to Adam Ewing.
Nefertiti is the name of the horse that Eva rides in story 2 and Mrs. Latham wears Nefertiti earings in story 3.
Less specifically, I have found these connections: In each story, someone has a choice to make about whether to help the individual that has the comet-shaped birthmark. There is always a bridge to cross that ends in danger, and there is always an opportunity for that same person (the helper) to kill someone else. For instance, Louisa Rey is driven off the bridge. Zachry learns from Somni not to go over the bridge. Somni witnesses a living doll thrown off a bridge. These connections are given to us most specifically in Zachry's story when he is given the three omens about not cutting the rope, crossing the bridge, or slitting the throat. I know I have made more connections, but can't think of them right now.
Angie wrote: "There is always a bridge to cross that ends in danger,"I didn't notice that! Awesome, I kind of want to re-read the Adam Ewing story to see if there is more stuff we didn't notice at first! Nice catch on the Ewingsville! listening to the book on audio I totally didn't catch that!
Here are some more ramblings, now that I have finished the novel.Once the stories are completed, it becomes more clear that EVERY major player in each story is reincarnated in each story. There is a Dr. Goose, Adam Ewing, Atua, Mr. Boerhaave, Preacher Horrox, Rafael, and Cpt. Molyneux is every one of the stories. The person with the comet birthmark only gives us an indicator of what pattern to look for.
Not only do the characters overlap, but several other aspects as well. For instance, smoke, cannibalism,oak trees, time, and slavery are some other ideas that repeat throughout the stories.
Also, obviously, the message is repeated, albeit in different ways, throughout each story. The first, which we don't ever hear, are Mr. Busby's deeds and documents that Adam Ewing is carrying with him. (That Dr. Goose tries to kill him over.) Then, we have Adam's Journal, Robert's musical score, Sixsmith's report (that Louisa finally publishes), Timothy's movie, Sonmi's orison, Meronym's paintings(?), and lastly Zachry's interview with his children.
In regard to the issue of age, I think it all works out. All the life/death years add up, except maybe in one case. It does seem like the lives of Louisa and Timothy would overlap. Even if Timothy is only 50, which I'm sure he was older, he would have been born during the life of Louisa. How to resolve this issue? I do not know.
I caught another one, Zachary was describing the throat of the guy he killed and he mentioned a type of deja vu, then later in the Robert Frobisher final story he talks about seeing someone sleeping with their neck exposed, but he chose not to do anything.
Okay, I know I'm a little late, but better late then never right? I think this was my favorite part of this book....finding all the spots where the stories interweave! Found a few more: -In the second half of Luisa Rey, Luisa and Napier go to the Marina to find Sixsmith's boat. This marina is the home of The Prophetess, which has been preserved. The Prophetess is the ship Adam Ewing was on.
- In Luisa Rey, Luisa visits Swannekke Island and in Sloosha's Crossin, Meronym makes reference to a tribe she stayed with called the Swannekke.
- More on the bridge aspect - In the second half of Orison of Sonmi, they also drive the car off the road and Somni makes reference to an earlier memory of being dropped and trapped in another ford.
- Cloud Atlas also comes up quite a bit - Frobisher's musical piece is called the Cloud Atlas Sextet and at the end of Sloosha's Crossin, Zachry lays in the kayak watching the clouds and refers to them as an "atlas o' clouds" and I believe it's Ewing who refers to wanting to possess an atlas of clouds. I believe there were more, but can't find them at the moment. Did you guys see any?
- it's been touched on a bit - but I love how the characters from each story read, or watch something from the previous story. Robert Frobisher reads Adam's Journal, Louisa finds and reads Robert's letters to Sixsmith, Timothy Cavendish reads a manuscript for Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery; Somni watches the film The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish and finally Meronym has the orison that Zachry's family passes on to watch, which shows Somni's interview. I read a review that stated that Cloud Atlas was like a set of Nesting Dolls and now that I have read the book - this is definitely an accurate description!
-Robert Frobisher finds Adam Ewing's journal (I love how annoyed he is that it just stops!)
-Rufus Sixsmith in the Luisa Rey story is Robert Frobisher lover who he was writing letters to.
-Luisa has the same birth mark as Robert Frobisher.
-Luisa hears Frobisher's music and believes she has heard it somewhere before.
-Cavendish also has a birthmark (as revealed in his closing story.)
-Cavendish receives a manuscript of Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery
-Somni 451- has birthmark, despite the fact she's a clone.
-Watches a movie (Disney) called The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish
-Zachary's people worship a goddess named Sonmi.
-Meronym is the one with the birthmark.
Here are the more subtle connections that I might just be projecting or seeing things that aren't really there.
-Two headed Rat in Sonmi's story that might be...Ol' Georgie?
-The ship the Prescients arrive on, could it be the clone ships from Sonmi's story that have been converted to be able to live on?
-Is the reason there are no North American's in Sonmi's story because the disaster at the power plant actually happened? And it caused the mutations and diseases that plagued (lol!) the rest of civilization?
-The idol cave where Zachary dreams his visons the same idol cave Adam Ewing falls into in his journal?
Any more?