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Cloud Atlas
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"Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell (April/May Fiction Group Read)
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Hope I'll find my way going on, but chapter 6 was a bit too much for me ...
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I loved this when I read it several years ago, before the movie came out, but I was a literature major so I usually like imitations of different styles and authors who play with technique. I was kind of afraid to recommend it to other people because it is so unusual.
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LauraT wrote: "I think it is a bit "constructed"; some complication in the structure can be interesting; this complexity is a bit too much!"I agree with you but I don't want to add more because of spoilers.
I am loving this book now - it is a great one to listen to because there are different narrators for each different section and they are all excellent!I have decided not to try to completely understand everything as soon as I hear it, but try to get the references to the others parts of the book in each section. I love the dichotomy of it all - it appeals to the ADD part of my personality!
Shirley wrote: "Charbel wrote: "I like how Mitchell thought it through. You could tell from the start that he had an intricate design in mind; a clear sign of excellence.So far from the various comments and revie..."
I'm in the fourth story as well. I know what you mean regarding the references, but I'm not expecting a general link,just these subtle connections.
Charbel wrote: "Shirley wrote: "Charbel wrote: "I like how Mitchell thought it through. You could tell from the start that he had an intricate design in mind; a clear sign of excellence.So far from the various co..."
I'm now on the sixth story, and like Laura, am a little lost, but it's still very readable and interesting.
I just watched the movie and it was awesome - totally loved it!
I'm a little behind everyone but I am starting Cloud Atlas today and from reading all your comments I am really looking forward to it.
Heather wrote: "I'm a little behind everyone but I am starting Cloud Atlas today and from reading all your comments I am really looking forward to it."I am also starting today. I have not looked at the comments yet...
I am a little worried by the fact I found on the back cover that this was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize. I tend to not like the books they like. And the predictive gizmo on LibraryThing says I probably won't like it with high degree of confidence. :(
Oh well.
Leslie wrote: I am also starting today. I have not looked at the comments yet..."Oh Leslie, having read this I am looking forward to your thought on the book. Hopefully the predictive gizmo has got you completely wrong!
Leslie, if you don't like science fiction. this may not be your favorite thing to read....I found it hard to get into at first.
Terry wrote: "Leslie, if you don't like science fiction. this may not be your favorite thing to read....I found it hard to get into at first."I do like sci-fi, although fantasy is more my thing. But I love Asimov, David Brin, some of Philip K. Dick, etc. I should stop procrastinating and just start reading it!
Well, this is sci fi and fantasy, so you may love it! Just FYI, I thought the first chapters were a little dry, but that may have been the main character's way of speaking. It gets much more interesting, some of the chapters are funny, some are poignant and soul searching and some read like an action adventure novel.
dely wrote: "LauraT wrote: "I think it is a bit "constructed"; some complication in the structure can be interesting; this complexity is a bit too much!"I agree with you but I don't want to add more because o..."
Complex structure makes me think of Umberto Eco, which could be good or bad!
I finished the first section and was a bit bothered by something which is probably a minor detail. I'll put it in spoilers in case others have not yet started.
(view spoiler)
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LauraT wrote: "Complex dates analysis Leslie; I don't follow you there. I'm finishing it - just about 20 pages left. And I confirm my first impression: parts a re good, parts less so, but the complex structure do..."This is it! I liked the first part of the book but when I saw that the stories and the small details that linked them didn't bring nowhere and were absolutely useless, I had a huge disappointment. It's like the author cheated the reader, this was my impression.
Tweedledum wrote: "I've just got to the section where Frobisher goes to stay with the blind composer Crommelynk. To me this reads like a complete send up of Eric Fenby's Delius as I Knew Him and the fac..."I am unfamiliar with Fenby's book but the back cover of my edition contains a reference to Nabokov. So far I hadn't seen anything that seemed "Nabokovian" but if this section is a satire of that biography, that might qualify (sort of like Nabokov's "Pale Fire").
I was pleased to spot a connection to the first section when Robert describes to Sixsmith (view spoiler).
LauraT wrote: "Complex dates analysis Leslie; I don't follow you there. I'm finishing it - just about 20 pages left. And I confirm my first impression: parts a re good, parts less so, but the complex structure do..."Didn't mean to be confusing -- (view spoiler).
I agree with LauraT and dely. I read this when it was first published , and not re-reading now, but my memory of it is that while i enjoyed the individual stories, i was frustrated in not seeing a proper causal link between them.
Joy wrote: "I agree with LauraT and dely. I read this when it was first published , and not re-reading now, but my memory of it is that while i enjoyed the individual stories, i was frustrated in not seeing a ..."I will comment more when I have finished and can see more of the whole picture (I am about to start the second half of the Timothy Cavendish story), but so far I am enjoying it very much. The links are there, some more subtle than others, but especially between two of the stories.
Just finished the first story & I found it quite hard going! I ended up rereading bits to make sure I was getting it, which is making it a slow read. I think it's just the way it's written... But I'm sticking with it!
Heather wrote: "Just finished the first story & I found it quite hard going! I ended up rereading bits to make sure I was getting it, which is making it a slow read. I think it's just the way it's written... But I..."The first story is a bit hard-going, but I found the others much easier to read, so hopefully you will, too!
Heather wrote: "Just finished the first story & I found it quite hard going! I ended up rereading bits to make sure I was getting it, which is making it a slow read. I think it's just the way it's written... But I..."I agree with Shirley that the others are easier to read (or at least the next couple which is as far as I've gotten).
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No no you were not confusing; it's simply that I didn't even noticed that!!!
I liked how the styles were different to match the worlds of each story and of course they have the underlying theme of freedom or individual vs society. I agree that there isn't a tight interlocking of the elements form one to another, sometimes they are just there a bit randomly but that didn't bother me. This is a lot like Murakami who has pieces of music or art or odd knickknacks appear throughout a book in different settings.
Just finished this book this morning. It is one of the best books I have ever read. I loved the totally different themes. It felt as if I was reading several books at once, which is usually what I do anyway, so it never got boring.
Ok, I've now finished the second story & I think I'm getting into the swing of it... Much happier now!
Alannah wrote: "Just finished The Bone Clocks and really enjoyed it. So I'm looking forward to this one."I also recently read The Bone Clocks, followed (about 3 books later!) by Cloud Atlas. I enjoyed CA, but I LOVED TBC - you know when you read a book & love it, but then can't find anyone else who's read it? I did a little excited dance when I saw your post, and will be interested to see how you think they compare!
Loving hearing everyone's thoughts on CA - Shannon Noel I loved the same parts as you, plus the Frobisher story, and yes the prose is sublime :D It made this (proud) word nerd very happy!
Robin wrote: "I liked how the styles were different to match the worlds of each story and of course they have the underlying theme of freedom or individual vs society..."I am now about 3/4 of the way through (just finished the second Timothy Cavendish section). I also like the way Mitchell uses different writing styles, different narrative voices for the different sections.
I do have some problems with the language used in the Sonmi sections. At first I liked the way he had shown the language of the future as (view spoiler)
That probably isn't a spoiler but I hid it just in case.
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LauraT wrote: "An opinion, not the "right" answer Leslie: because USA are colonizing the world not as Europe did in the XIX century with military and administrative occupation but through its prodicts and brands."More than the Japanese? You are probably right but it just jarred on me...
I came across the passage below this morning (in the second Luisa Rey section, but no spoilers involved). It immediately struck me as Mitchell explaining the structure of the novel. What do you guys think?This is part of a character's musings:
"One model of time: an infinite matryoshka doll of painted moments, each "shell" (the present) encased inside a nest of "shells" (previous presents) I call the actual past but which we perceive as the virtual past. The doll of "now" likewise encases a nest of presents yet to be, which I call the actual future but which we perceive as the virtual future."
Think you hit the nail right on the head there Leslie. I also suspect he leaves other little 'Easter-egg' style references throughout his books, there's often a little bell ringing somewhere at the edge of my brain, but usually I can never quite grasp what it is. Not sure if that's my lack of critical (in the literary sense) reading experience / ability, or whether I'm just not quite clever enough to decipher it myself! I'm reasonably bright but I do feel rather intellectually stunted when I'm reading such a clever author!! But hey, I read for enjoyment & the book gave me great pleasure so why worry?!!
Chatterjak wrote: "... there's often a little bell ringing somewhere at the edge of my brain, but usually I can never quite grasp what it is. Not sure if that's my lack of critical (in the literary sense) reading experience / ability, or whether I'm just not quite clever enough to decipher it myself! I'm reasonably bright but I do feel rather intellectually stunted when I'm reading such a clever author!!..."I think it takes practice - when I read in school, knowing I would have to write a paper on the book eventually, I was quite good at coming up with ideas about what a book "meant". Since then, my skills have atrophied (one reason I joined GoodReads was to get back that skill!).
In this particular case, I had noticed several people commented on how the sections were connected (or not), so this subject has been in the back of my mind as I have been reading -- why write the book this way? What was Mitchell trying to say?
Normally, like you I read for enjoyment and don't think about those types of questions.
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They don't seem to be colonizing the world!
I finished this morning and I ended up liking it far more than I thought I would even a few days ago. I discuss why in my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I do want to thank everyone for discussing with me the various issues as I went along, as it really helped me. I don't think I would have liked this book nearly as much without this group read!
LauraT wrote: "Leslie wrote: "LauraT wrote: "More than the Japanese? You are probably right but it just jarred on me... "They don't seem to be colonizing the world!"
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree about that.
Leslie wrote: "I finished this morning and I ended up liking it far more than I thought I would even a few days ago. I discuss why in my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I do want to th..."
Great review, although it is so close to my thoughts & feelings on the book it was like you'd been in my head! Spooky!! ;) However, you express your ideas more eloquently than I am able to, so it was very satisfying to read, it feels like you wrote the book report for me!! I did chuckle at your progress reports too - every time just I just began to be interested in each section it moved onto the next too! I'd put off reading this for a while as I thought I wouldn't like it, and struggled through the first couple of sections. Overall a satisfying read by the end, with a good deal of meaty issues to consider. I liked that for all it's bleak aspects it is not devoid of hope.
Thanks Chatterjak! Generally my reviews are more along the lines of "enjoyable book" so it's nice to know my effort on this one was worth it *grin*…
I feel the same as you, Chatterjack. Leslie said the things I was thinking as well, just more eloquently. :-)
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They don't seem to be colonizing the world!"
I guess we'll just have to a..."
LOL!!!
I've now finished this, and thought it was a very interesting read. I struggled to get into the first story, then enjoyed the rest of it until I got to the second part of Letters from Zedelghem. I just didn't see how this story fit into the whole. I'm still thinking about that story. To me, the rest of the stories were all set around a central theme of one lone voice or hope against the "system" and how do we escape the system, or are we stuck in our place, never to escape, oppressed by those "above" us? I probably enjoyed the two futuristic stories the best. I thought the last chapter ended the book well and the book as a whole really made me think. I can't wait to see the film now!
There is a film? Maybe this would be a good book for the BINGO square "Book made into a movie" then!
Leslie, the movie was great ! It fit the book perfectly, I thought.
Leslie wrote: "Thanks Chatterjak! Generally my reviews are more along the lines of "enjoyable book" so it's nice to know my effort on this one was worth it *grin*…"Rofl! I rarely review because mostly I'm just interested in whether I enjoyed it, & if it was a good yarn or had interesting characters etc.! Think I may well be guilty of the odd review that just says how much I enjoyed it, and now I'm too lazy to do that because that's what the star ratings are for!
If I had the technical know-how I'd just put a link to your review ... I'm so lazy about learning anything vaguely technical, shame on me!
But hey, Leslie did a good job for us didn't she Terry? ;)
I've been avoiding the film until I'd read the book, I can't bear seeing the film first! Will give it a whirl now though!
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I fell asleep on my couch after about 20 minutes!!!! I should try it again!
Chatterjak wrote: "Alannah wrote: "Just finished The Bone Clocks and really enjoyed it. So I'm looking forward to this one."I also recently read The Bone Clocks, followed (about 3 books later!) by C..."
I'm reading the bone clocks at the moment. I'm finding it a very confusing book, but like it a lot at present. I read cloud Atlas when it first came out and liked it a lot then. Not that I remember a great deal about it!
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Yes, I know what you mean, Terry. This is very cleverly written, and I also love how each story draws you in so quickly that you are soon committed to the new story, whilst keeping the others on a back burner to be brought back into the story later. I'm on the future story now.