R.D. Pires Feb 17, 2015

it was amazing bookshelves: titles-i-love, covers-i-love

's review

With "Cloud Atlas," David Mitchell has not just created a story that transports you through lifetimes, he has crafted a love affair with his readers. Never have I been so effectively coerced into contemplating how lives can effect one another through what we assume to be the smallest of gestures. Even alongside abrupt transitions, Mitchell somehow seamlessly weaves together six tales from six different time periods, reminding us that extraordinary things can come from seemingly ordinary people and events.



Along the way, Mitchell also proves himself to be somewhat of a chameleon of a writer. Lending distinctive voices to each of the characters and fleshing out their characteristics, their thoughts, their surroundings, even their universes with encapsulating verve. I was enamored (although admittedly to different degrees) by each story, eager not to rush through the pages, but rather to devour the language of their journeys. There were far more than a few passages I found myself underlining along the way.



While I understand the incredibly inventive and effective structure of the novel, I felt the book began and ended with the least interesting section, and therefore this is the only flaw I feel is worth mentioning. Again, I did enjoy each of the six separate stories, but to bookend "Cloud Atlas" with the weakest of the sextet was a subtle crime. Between these sections though, we reach such a high of adventure and passion and humor and awe. It is there that I fell under David Mitchell's spell. Really, a treat to read.