Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Published June 30, 2005

Book info
- Title
- Author David Mitchell
- Year
- Genres
Thoughts
Through a journal, some letters, a novel, a storyteller, and other interesting methods of communication, we’re introduced to six separate worlds. In each, something different and major is happening, and somehow they all link together.
Some of the characters are completely ordinary - for instance, the first story follows a man and a doctor travelling together on a boat. The middle story, though, is written in a bizarre dialect. It took me a long time to work through it, figuring out what each paragraph said.
There’s something genius about the book, and I really enjoyed reading it, but I’m afraid it went a little over my head. I never really got the connection between the stories. We worked our way through to the middle and then back through the same characters until we were back where we started, and I was none the wiser. I didn’t end the book feeling like I’d gone on a journey with a character and we had resolved whatever problem arose during our time together. I was left feeling a bit bemused.
Plus, I get too caught up in the little things as well. I found the first story finishing in the middle of a sentence completely unacceptable.
Rating: Unrated