Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
8/10
This reminded me of Julian Barnes' 'History of the world in 10 1/2 chapters'. Why? Not sure - it feels like a momentous book that has a lot to say to us, but I think it might need to be read again to catch all the cleverness. It is a clever book. It's big and made up of several stories, that interlink with each other. I feel that I shouldn't say more than that for fear of giving too much away - but I was taken from the story of a sea-faring lawyer in the 1800s to the fate of a cloned fast-food waitress in a world dominated by multinational brand names to a post-apocalyptic future with tribal warfare.
Bit post-modern (well, a lot, actually) - I think the author cleverly makes reference to what he has done on page 463, where he is describing the work of a composer of music - I'm paraphrasing, so as to describe the book - 'in the first half of the book each story is interrupted by its successor: in the second, each interruption is recontinued in order. Revolutionary or gimmicky? Shan't know until it's finished.'
I wouldn't call it revolutionary or gimmicky - but it is a clever way to deliver a book's narratives.
It took me ages to read, though - partly because sometimes it's hard to find the time, but also, it was stodgy at times.
8/10
This reminded me of Julian Barnes' 'History of the world in 10 1/2 chapters'. Why? Not sure - it feels like a momentous book that has a lot to say to us, but I think it might need to be read again to catch all the cleverness. It is a clever book. It's big and made up of several stories, that interlink with each other. I feel that I shouldn't say more than that for fear of giving too much away - but I was taken from the story of a sea-faring lawyer in the 1800s to the fate of a cloned fast-food waitress in a world dominated by multinational brand names to a post-apocalyptic future with tribal warfare.
Bit post-modern (well, a lot, actually) - I think the author cleverly makes reference to what he has done on page 463, where he is describing the work of a composer of music - I'm paraphrasing, so as to describe the book - 'in the first half of the book each story is interrupted by its successor: in the second, each interruption is recontinued in order. Revolutionary or gimmicky? Shan't know until it's finished.'
I wouldn't call it revolutionary or gimmicky - but it is a clever way to deliver a book's narratives.
It took me ages to read, though - partly because sometimes it's hard to find the time, but also, it was stodgy at times.
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