Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

                                                                                                                                                                   

"Your life amounted to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean!" "Yet, what is an ocean but a multitude of drops?" - David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Hello bookworms!  I wanted to make my first post about the book I recently finished.  And what a book!  It still lingers in my mind, the effect it had once I finished it.  I figured it would not only be a good way to start this blog, but also a way to introduce people to this gem.

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell.  At first I didn't know it was a book.  I saw the trailer for the movie first, and decided against watching it because it seemed too confusing, unfocused.  I had no idea what was going on when I first saw the trailer.  So I paid little to no attention to it.  I asked my friend about it, who simply said that he found it boring and confusing.  I didn't need convincing after that, so I passed.


I now know that things happen for a reason.  It's funny, really.  This book had elements of things from the past falling in the hands of people from the future.  To make myself feel a teeny-bit important, I concluded that the book fell into my hands because it was supposed to (shh! don't ruin the illusion... please!).  Anyway, the funny things is that I came across this book when I was visiting a dollar store.  I knew I wouldn't find good books there, yet I stayed and rummaged through old and "new" volumes of either unknown authors or equally unknown books.  Then I saw this for $3.  I hesitated.  First, it was relatively thick (500 pages).  Then, the cover was of the movie, not the original cover when it was published.  I usually avoid books with movie covers because... well, I really don't know why, but it looks weird to me.

Anyway, I read the back.  The description, and it just explained that it was a puzzle, a transcendental book of fiction and science, like Phillip K. Dick... so on.  Still didn't get it.  I also saw many praises for it, from People to New York Times.  I hesitated yet again, and looked suspiciously at it.  How many times have we picked up a book that is "#1" on New York Times and turns out badly?  I suspected this would be the case.  Yet I bought it.  I was curious.

I went home and decided to search for the extended trailer on YouTube.  It was the first time actually seeing it.  Whoa.  Chills, goosebumps and tears, in a 5-minute video!  The mixture of the music, the scenes (and M83's Outro!).  It was all sublime, surreal, perfect!  Check it out here!

Anyway, I was still confused, but I saw a tiny spec of light, enough to spark curiosity and start reading it.  What is it about?  Well, I found this description that helped A LOT.  From Good Reads:

Cloud Atlas begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Along the way, Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite. . . . Abruptly, the action jumps to Belgium in 1931, where Robert Frobisher, a disinherited bisexual composer, contrives his way into the household of an infirm maestro who has a beguiling wife and a nubile daughter. . . . From there we jump to the West Coast in the 1970s and a troubled reporter named Luisa Rey, who stumbles upon a web of corporate greed and murder that threatens to claim her life. . . . And onward, with dazzling virtuosity, to an inglorious present-day England; to a Korean superstate of the near future where neo-capitalism has run amok; and, finally, to a post-apocalyptic Iron Age Hawaii in the last days of history.

But the story doesn’t end even there. The narrative then boomerangs back through centuries and space, returning by the same route, in reverse, to its starting point. Along the way, Mitchell reveals how his disparate characters connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky.

That helped, so I started reading it.

I almost dropped it and left it in my bookcase until the dust consumed it.  But I'm glad I didn't.  I'm glad I endured the hard parts of it, the climb.  It led me to a lesson I will never forget, a lesson that had changed my mindset for the rest of my life.  It made that big of an impact.

The book is divided into six stories, jumping from one date to the other, seemingly unrelated and random.  We have Adam Ewing's journal as he travels to his home and the things he encounters along the way.  Then we have the letters of Robert Frobisher to his friend and lover Sixsmith.  We witness the mystery of Luisa Rey, a journalist in the 1970s.  We join Timothy Cavendish in his most memorable and ghastly ordeal in 2012.  We join an Archivist as he interviews Sonmi-451 in a futuristic, neocapitalist Korea and finally, we become part of the world of Zachary, probably the end of history as we know it.

Here's my in-depth review of it (warning, it's long jaja)

My experience?

Difficult but rewarding.  I did like the book, but it felt like climbing a mountain rather than reading a normal book.  That being said, I'm glad I did.  This book made its way to my favorite books' list, and it will stay there.  Here's my experience with every character (I'm listening to M83's Outro as I write this):

The journal of Adam Ewing.  It was a little tedious at first, and hard to pinpoint what was going on around him.  It was hard to keep track of characters, aside from his doctor friend.  It took me a while to read his chapter, but I found myself engaged in it.  Ewing was a very interesting character, and I actually stayed with him in his voyage.  It was, after all, the beginning of what would be a transcendental story.  We first meet the comet birthmark, a beacon that would guide you throughout the story and will lead you to a conclusion unlike any other.

Frobisher's Letters.  It got easier when I got to this character.  Robert Frobisher is... unique.  The way he views the world, the way hi interprets things is interesting.  You meet him as a strong young man, but later find out that he is broken inside.  The letters are written from Zedelghem, a château where the great composer Vyvyan Ayrs lives with his wife, Jocasta.  In hopes of becoming the protégé of him and ultimately continue on his own (among many other agendas the young Frobisher has).  It was very interesting, and it was here where the book hooked me.

Luisa Rey's Mystery.  My favorite chapter and character!  It tells the story of Luisa Rey as she comes across a possible conspiracy and dangers surrounding a nuclear plant in California.  Of course, for every journalist trying to pry open a can of worms, danger is always around her.  I honestly love a good mystery!  And Luisa Rey delivers!  It's a section that jumps from the point of view of our journalist and a character you should know by know, from the past; and the executives of the nuclear plant.  This section, this story, was enough to convince me that there was more to come, and it would get much, much better.

The Ordeal of Cavendish.  This part was fun and unique.  Set in the present day, we have the elderly publisher, Timothy Cavendish, and the hilariously complicated event that changes his life forever.  Without giving much away, Cavendish makes a profit of someone else's... crime.  When it comes to bite him, he flees and eventually finds himself being a prisoner of sorts (believe me, it's not jail).  In an attempt to escape, he makes unlikely allies, and learns a lot along the way.  This section was also easy to read.  It's set in the present (2012, I think), and it's narrated by the elderly Cavendish.  I think I haven't read so many hilarious twists and turns in a book before.  That being said, the lesson here is interesting, and like everything in this book, it catapults you to the next section, further in the future... and it's ALL connected.

Sonmi-451's interview.  We arrive in the future, set in Korea.  We meet Sonmi-451, a clone made for the sole purpose of serving people in a restaurant with the name of Papa Song.  These clones live underground, and they never leave.  They sleep and work there for ever.  Some get promoted, others simply live the same thing over and over.  The clones only get the knowledge needed to their responsibilities.  They are limited to know what they are given.  As they get promoted, they learn maybe a few more words and their meaning, and they expand their vocabulary.  But upon reaching a level, they get curious.  They wonder what is up there, what the world looks like.  Curiosity for a clone, in a world like that, means trouble.  Join the Archivist, as he interviews Sonmi-451, and learns how she managed to escape Papa Song's, how she witness the murder of a fellow clone and how she inspired a whole revolution.  As a Sci-Fi aficionado, I really enjoyed this section very much.  Even though it is merely an interview, Sonmi manages to narrate her adventures though the futuristic city of Korea, and how all hell broke loose with her escape; all in details.  It took me a few pages to get used to the vocabulary (they replace the "ex" in existence for x, making it xistence).  The section also makes references to things of their future, and it takes a while for you to actually know what they are talking about (like a drink given to clones, called Soap).  Overall, it's really fun and action packed, regardless of the fact that she is just sitting in front of him, talking.

Zachary's story.  I really tried to read this one.  But couldn't.  I gave up and read a summary.  All I know it's that it is set in a post-apocalyptic Hawaii, where humans are gathered in tribes.  I only know what I saw in the movie (which I strongly suggest), and nothing more.  Why did I give up.  It's impossible to read, in my opinion.  Each word has numerous apostrophes in them (the title itself is: Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After).  I did read the summary, and found the story fascinating.  It involves a mountain climb and Zachary trying to find redemption and proving himself.  But it was too hard to read.  So i skipped it.

Further on, like the description says, it boomerangs back, slowly showing you, the reader, how every seemingly disconnected life is actually connected, and how one affects the other.  How one act of kindness, ripples through time and inspires a revolution.

Do I recommend it?

Yes!  Definitely!  But be warned, the book it NOT for everyone, and I don't mean whether or not it's age-appropriate (it's not).  The book is complicated, and hard to read.  It's not something you can pick up and do a casual reading, because, honestly, it's hard.  At least, to me.  That being said, the book WILL change the way you see things, and if you read to the end, it will stick with you.

I apologize for the kilometric review, but I simply LOVED this book, and I hope those who are reading this give it a chance.  Oh!  And watch the movie!  It ties everything you've experienced in a nice bow.  I will review it in a different blog I'm planning on making, but know that it is worth it!  (I must add, that the movie is three hours long and it is not intended for minors.)  If you sit through it, believe me, it'll be worth it.

***

Thank you for reading!  I'll be posting more in-depth reviews and my thoughts on the books I've read.  Feel free to post your comments!  Happy Reading!