Browsing through amazon I chanced upon the novel ´Cloud Atlas´ by David Mitchell, a British author (born in Southport in 1969) hitherto unknown to me, the word ´bizarre´ in one of the critiques made me order it although the number of pages was not given as it usually is. Shock, horror!, when the book arrived, 529 pages in small print! Without any introduction I find myself reading ´The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing´, an ´American Notary of Letters & Law´ written on his return trip to San Francisco from a South Pacific island where he was on business. The language is quaint (we´re in the first half of the 19th century), ´I hurried thitherwards´ . . . ...  Read the complete review

There was a time when short stories were in vogue. Those halcyon days of Poe, Lovecraft, Conan Doyle and the like were entertaining ones for a Victorian readership who could tolerate a tale told in short form. More recent attempts to re-invigorate this art form have come from Stephen King (with the awful “Hearts in Atlantis” by example) and the successful Clive Barker debut affair “Books of Blood”. I guess having read a number of reviews praising “Cloud Atlas” in the press as well as having the weighty vote of approval from This Morning’s Richard & Judy then I felt curiosity bound to try it out. After all, this book was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2004. ...  Read the complete review

When Cloud Atlas was first published, I bought the hardback and it took me about 6 weeks to read it. I ploughed through it relentlessly, and was left completely bewildered as to what it was about, what it meant, and who the hell this David Mitchell character was. I found some parts of it fascinating and others as dull as ditchwater. Six years on, I've managed to read it in nine very busy days, and I did find it much less impenetrable this time. The novel is split into six sections. First Mitchell tells you the first half of six stories, then he tells you the second half of each story, in the opposite order so that you don't get the end of the very ...  Read the complete review

'Cloud Atlas' is available new from Amazon for £4, although can be found cheaper from other sellers, especially second-hand. If you have a Kindle or other e-reader, it can be downloaded for £6.99. You may also be able to borrow it for free (yay!) from your local library. I bought my copy with Christmas vouchers a couple of years ago. The book was first published in 2004, and it was David Mitchell's third published novel. On the back of my copy, AS Byatt is quoted as saying "David Mitchell entices his readers onto a rollercoaster, and at first they wonder if they want to get off. Then - at least in my case - they can't bear the journey to end." This ...  Read the complete review

Cloud Atlas was first released in 2004, and I had been wanting to read it for quite a while before I finally got the chance to. I didn't actually know much about it however, so when I finally got to sit down and start reading it I was a bit surprised by the way it's written, Cloud Atlas is divided up into six different stories, each completely different from each other, but all having something that links the following story to the previous. There are five stories that are split into two parts, the first half of each is written and then there is the sixth story in its entirety in the middle, and then the other five follow on, giving their conclusion. The ...  Read the complete review