Not on cloud nine but has a silver lining. (Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell)

Member Name: dididave

Product:	Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
Date:	19/10/05 (233 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Epic in scope, a section for everyone, brilliantly written.

Disadvantages: Segmented, fractured style. Not all sections will appeal. Heavy read.

"Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell was nominated for the Booker Prize; received rave reviews and has been touted as one of the greatest reads of all time. As such I delayed reading it for many months. After all, I was bound to be disappointed. "Cloud Atlas" is a novel told in six parts. Telling the tale of six radically different, yet undoubtedly linked lives it is a disjointed mish mash of a book. Rather than a novel this book reads like a collection of short stories combined by a loose connection and this is its strength and ultimately its weakness.

Covering six lives in vastly different times and places is daring, unique and refreshing as it moves away from the writer's obsession with structure, chapters and linearity. Instead Mitchell offers the reader a variety of writing styles as each of the six sections are told from different perspectives be it an unwitting American Adam Ewing, hero to a stowaway Moriori. This native is one of the last of his tribe following the Maori's ceaseless slaughter. Or that of Somni-451 a fabricant/clone who works in a futuristic Mc Donald's ceaselessly with no rest. Other sections of note include an opportunistic musician intent on fame and fortune at any cost and a young journalist determined to live up to the reputation of her father despite the danger she finds herself in. Add to this an old bookseller who finds himself unwittingly in the unfamiliar surroundings of a Nursing Home and we have a wide array of characters.

As you can see the time differences between the sections are huge and Mitchell reflects this in his varying styles. Each story is told from the point of view of its protagonist and Mitchell gives himself the task of writing in the style of that time. As such Adam Ewing writes in the descriptive language of an intelligent man in the 17th Century whereas Somni-451 tells her tale in a monotone fashion indicitive of her life in slavery. Each narrative Mitchell achieves with varying degrees of success but on the whole all six sections left me in no doubt of his ability as he crosses genres effortlessly and provides convincing settings and interesting characters to peruse.

Mitchell's characters are a very strange bunch as I found it difficult to gain much empathy for them or their various plights. Their motives seemed largely selfish and Mitchell seems to be saying that motives are not an issue as long as the end result is worthwhile. The various settings however do invoke a variety of emotions with one tale leaving me angry while another filled me with a sense of justice and irony. I suppose this is the genius of such a diverse novel, there is bound to be at least one section you thoroughly enjoy and in my case I enjoyed the majority of them. My personal favourites were the Robinson Crusoe style "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing" and the Bladerrunneresque "An Orison of Somni-451".

Of course, such a wide-ranging novel cannot be perfect and "Cloud Atlas" is not. Undeniably an epic in its scope and the descriptive, challenging way it is written parts of it most definitely drag whereas other parts seem to end far too abruptly. The language and way parts of the novel are written make this a heavy, thoughtful read at times certainly in a particular section that gets bogged down in musical terminology and history. As a result this novel is a worthy read but not all that accessible. You have to really want to read it, as its style can be off-putting although perseverance does reap considerable rewards.

At 544 pages this is a hefty read, you may find that as I did one section at a time is the way to go. Was I disappointed? No, but it was not what I expected. I am in awe of Mitchell's ability but he may have slightly overstretched himself here. The tales do mix together well by the novels conclusion but you will find yourself enjoying it more if you devote your time to one section at a time. I do recommend this novel purely for its attempts to be different and the sheer brilliance of the attempt but do not expect an easy read.

Paperback price: £4.55 on Amazon
Publisher: Sceptre
ISBN: 0340822783

Summary: Epic but not the Magnum Opus I was expecting.