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Cloud Atlas

David Mitchell

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What Members Thought

Sep 19, 2007 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: literaryfiction

A postmodern novel that explores intersecting lives, reincarnation, really, through a series of anecdotes, diaries, and even a spy thriller. The differing voices are excellent, as are the different styles of writing.

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Oct 01, 2012 Carol rated it it was amazing

I'm not sure how to rate this book as just moments ago I finished it.

There were flaws, and after reading Zachary's story, I thought that the book should end there. But I'm glad in some ways that it didn't (and I won't detail those examples due to spoilers).

Is this book a masterpiece? No. But gosh I really enjoyed it. I will think more and perhaps update this review at a later date.

Four and a half stars.

5/3/15: After reading a bunch of books (and many very poorly written) between when I finished ...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Lauren rated it it was amazing

Oh my gosh, this was as good as everyone says it is. Wow.

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Dec 05, 2009 Tiffany rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, 1001-books__fromlist, group_read

As Wikipedia puts it, Cloud Atlas "consists of six nested stories, whereof each is read (or observed) by a main character of the next. The first five stories are each interrupted at a pivotal moment. After the sixth story, the other five stories are closed, in reverse chronological order, and each ends with the main character reading or observing the chronologically previous work in the chain." (This reminded me of If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, so I was particularly looking forward to it.) As Wikipedia puts it, Cloud Atlas "consists of six nested stories, whereof each is read (or observed) by a main character of the next. The first five stories are each interrupted at a pivotal moment. After the sixth story, the other five stories are closed, in reverse chronological order, and each ends with the main character reading or observing the chronologically previous work in the chain." (This reminded me of If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, so I was particularly looking forward to it.) I kept thinking how talented Mitchell is (or at least seems to me) to be able to change the tone so many times within one book.

With that comes comparisons to other works (whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I don't know): Ewing's journal-on-a-ship story (the first and eleventh chapters) reminded me of Melville's Typee (which is even referred to towards the end of the second part of this narrative), and the dystopian world of "An Orison of Sonmi~451" (chapters five and seven) reminded me of The Giver.

I loved Robert Frobisher's letters in the second/tenth story. I loved the epistolary style for the narrative, as well as Frobisher's style of writing, using musical language to describe the world around him. Towards the end (or maybe middle) of the first go-round with this particular story, I started to dislike Frobisher a bit: he is a scoundrel! He's dishonest and sleeps around, and yet I still overall liked the character, scoundrelines and all. I did wonder, though, how we were able to read the letters *he* wrote to Sixsmith, but never the letters Sixsmith wrote back to him. In the next story, of course, we find out it's because (view spoiler).

I also enjoyed the Luisa Rey story. I liked the intrigue of (view spoiler). That one definitely kept me turning the pages, and even gasping out loud a few times!

The Timothy Cavendish chapters (4 & 8) weren't bad, but they weren't great. The second time we visit him was better for me than the first time. I liked when we first meet him and find out his background, but once he's (view spoiler), I stopped caring as much. But when we return to the story after going through the other stories, the plot picks up again and, like the Luisa Rey story, even had me gasping out loud or giggling.

The middle story, "Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After," was hit-and-miss for me. I didn't like the first part, with the exception of finding out how this story related to the story before it ("An Orison of Sonmi~451"), but the second part picked up.

Overall, it was a good book. It wasn't as deep and profound and difficult as I thought it would be, but I mostly enjoyed the six different stories. I also liked trying to figure out how the stories related to each other, and the commonalities, such as the ship Prophetess, which Adam Ewing travels on in the first/eleventh chapters, and Luisa Rey sees in the marina as an example of a well-restored ship in the ninth chapter. ...more

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Mar 04, 2010 Kristin rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 23, 2011 Rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dys-u-topia

2011 review: First off, I think Mitchell is a genius with language. The gimmick of this book is that the first half contains the beginnings of six stories, and the second half contains the endings of the stories, all of which are connected and progress through time from 19th-century notary to post-apocalyptic shepherd. The best thing about the gimmick is that it gave Mitchell and excuse to show off his talents for writing in different styles, including the highly industrialized future nation wit ...more

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Apr 12, 2011 Jenny Fosket rated it it was amazing

Amazing book. The dystopian future that Mitchell brings to life is fascinating and scarily imaginable. I loved the nesting story format and, though, it was sometimes jolting to jump from one to the next, it didn't take long to delve into each and become connected to the characters. ...more

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Nov 09, 2010 Esther rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, author-male, england, __given-away, europe, zz-2015, zz-2015-from-my-own-shelves, world

This book received 4 stars from me mainly because I enjoyed Mitchell’s writing. If the book had been all about Sonmi-451 it would have been 5 stars but the other narratives I found a bemusing mixture of amusing and annoying.
In addition the book didn’t really hold together as a single entity and felt more like a series of short stories. As a story it was all middle, no beginning or end. I could appreciate what the author was trying to do but it didn’t really appeal to me.
If you have the patience ...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Misha rated it liked it

Shelves: doorway-prose, multiple-narrators, elastic-realism, letters, read-2012

This was just too uneven for me. I also find that I have much less patience than I used to for overly stylized, experimental writing and the adulation heaped on experimental and often obtuse prose.

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Mar 03, 2013 Heron rated it really liked it

Pretty great book! Gripping in parts.

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Sep 10, 2007 Tanya rated it really liked it

Shelves: unfinished

I'm actually giving this book 4 stars based on how far I've gotten into it. For some reason, I was waylaid and did not finish it. I think I'll wrap it up after I'm done with my current reading. ...more

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