Zachry and countless other characters in a book recently getting a lot of hype are all connected; connected through the past, present, and future. David Mitchell’s “Cloud Atlas”, on Barnes and Nobles best-seller list, takes the reader through time from character to character, experiencing each of their hardships and each emotional reaction, aggressively fueling the reader’s anticipation for each chapter.
Mitchell’s writing is well thought out with distinct purpose. He places the reader in the story right alongside the characters. Sometimes when reading an author’s book I question why they do things or I find myself clutching on to my book for dear life so that I don’t chuck it at my wall after reading the ending. In Mitchell’s book however, it was so well written that I didn’t have to question him.
The book starts out as journal entries from the perspective of Adam Ewing, a lawyer crossing the Pacific on his way to San Francisco. The book then switches to Robert Frobisher, a musician sending letters to his friend Sixsmith. The book travels into the future where Sixsmith is a nuclear scientist helping journalist, Luisa Rey, uncover the dangerous threat a new nuclear power plant imposes.
The story moves on to a genetic waitress clone on death row, in the form of interviews. Finally, the book concludes with Zachry, who witnessed his father killed by a clan of warriors, in a post-apocalyptic future.
Mitchell shows interesting stylistic character by cutting off halfway through each story and continuing it later on. In one case, a chapter ends mid-sentence and continues on later, finally revealing what the reader anticipates.
Although the story line is a bit confusing, the main purpose is to demonstrate how lives are connected in the past, present, and future. A quote by character, Timothy Cavendish, really states the books theme:
“What wouldn’t I give now for a never-changing map of the ever-constant ineffable? To possess, as it were, an atlas of clouds.”
Mitchell explores six different points of time. Someone can easily connect with at least one of the characters or one of the stories because each person goes through challenges and struggles to meet their ultimate goal. The book however, is not for everyone. It is fast paced and the different stories fluctuate back and forth between points in time.
This book’s discernible style makes it unique. In addition, it would be hard to categorize a genre for “Cloud Atlas” because of the six different stories, but it’s closest to fantasy or science fiction. This book is exquisite and it will be hard for any other book to amount to the glory that is “Cloud Atlas”.
With the book already exceeding expectations, it was made into a movie that comes out today. The movie, starring Halle Berry, Tom Hanks and Jim Sturgess, showed an early screening at the Toronto Film Festival and received a 10-minute standing ovation, exactly the response this book deserves