An interesting book. Quite different from anything I've read before. A mixture of a few genres I like and others that I'm not so keen on. Imagine Robert Louis Stevenson, Daniel Defoe, the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, Michael Crighton, Graham Greene, Aldous Huxley, Ray Bradbury, H.G. Wells, George Orwell, Douglas Adams and Margaret Atwood got together to write one continuous story going from any of their times and genres to the next. That's about what the result would be. Really, very interesting and hard to describe.
It's almost like several short stories in one book, only they do belong to each other. The closest type of book I have ever read must be "If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller" (Se una notte d’inverno un viaggiatore) by Italo Calvino although that is still quite a different story.
I think you have to like dystopian literature, otherwise this might not be for you but apart from that, the writing is quite captivating. We start in the past, get to know the protagonists and their stories, move into the future and then go back to see the end of the different stories. In short: quite fascinating.
From the back cover:
"Six interlocking lives - one amazing adventure. In a narrative that circles the globe and reaches from the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future, Cloud Atlas erases the boundaries of time, genre and language to offer an enthralling vision of humanity's will to power, and where it will lead us."
And another one:
"A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified 'dinery server' on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation -- the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.
In his captivating third novel, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of language, genre and time to offer a meditation on humanity’ s dangerous will to power, and where it may lead us."
It's been on my TBR list for awhile, but I've dithered over whether it was really one I'd like.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is a different kind of book from anything I've read before and I really cannot predict whether anyone would enjoy it. I'm not into science fiction but I like dystopia and classics, so that was the really interesting part of it but there are a lot of different stories to comprehend. It's something I liked but wouldn't be to everyone's taste. If you have the book already, I say give it a go.
DeleteHappy Reading,
Marianne
Good review. I was defeated by this book the first time I read it. I went back and started reading David Mitchell from his first novel forward and now I am hooked. Reread Cloud Atlas and liked it must more. Here is my story: http://keepthewisdom.blogspot.com/2016/01/cloud-atlas.html
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThank you so much for the link. Your review is great and I do get what you mean with paying attention to structure. I think that is what most people struggle with in this book. That, especially the jumping about in time and space, is very important to consider.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that you said you found the movie even better. That hasn't happened to me very often but I can see how it is easier to comprehend.
Thanks again for stopping by and giving me the link.
Marianne
Hi there Marianne!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your review with me. I quite like dystopian novels and this one has been on my TBR for the longest time. Need to get reading it!
You're welcome, Elza. I also love dystopian novels and this was a gift from a friend who was moving and gave the books she couldn't take to those who might be interested. She was right with all of them.
Delete