Book Review: Cloud Atlas

Believe it or not, I do have interests outside of Soren. One of those interests is reading. I've been thinking lately that I would like to keep some sort of record of the books I read, and I figured: why not on my blog? So you'll be seeing occasional book reviews appearing here, in which I will briefly rate the book in several reading categories that matter to me. And this is all starting today with a book review on......

Cloud Atlas
by David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas is a fascinating and experimental novel format that essentially weaves six novels into a united whole. It's difficult to explain, but the author himself does it effectively through metaphors, using the voice of one of his characters: "Spent the fortnight gone in the music room, reworking my year's fragments into a "sextet for overlapping soloists": piano, clarinet, 'cello, flute, oboe, and violin, each in its own language of key, scale, and color. In the first set, each solo is interrupted by its successor: in the second, each interruption is recontinued, in order. Revolutionary or gimmicky? Shan't know until it's finished, and by then it'll be too late..."

Writing Style: Mitchell is a divinely gifted writer who deftly occupies six vastly different styles, voices, and genres that are all tied together-- and not only through obvious content connections. Shared themes unite the stories, bringing harmony to what otherwise might be perceived as literary dissonance.
Plot: You laugh, you cry. You carry the book with you to the bathroom. You hold it in one hand while stirring batter with the other. You bring it with you to work in case you get stopped at a red light on the way there. You release a guttural moan when the author takes you out of one plot and deposits you in another. And then you get addicted to the next plot. And you laugh. And cry. And carry the book with you to the bathroom.
Setting: Oh. My. Gosh. The settings. The settings! They are all so different and yet-- so real. I don't doubt them for a minute. While reading, you start to wonder: has this man lived in the South Pacific? United States? Korea? France? England? During the 19th Century? The 20th? The 25th? How old is he anyway? And can I get in touch with his time-travel agent?
Characterization: It's difficult to create characters that seem so unstilted that your readers start talking about them like they're friends. (Maria Doria Russell accomplished this feat in The Sparrow-- I read it years ago but still occasionally bring up Ann and Emilio in casual conversations with Abraham, who is always confused at first: has he met these people?) And I'll be honest, Mitchell didn't create characters whom I felt that I knew. But that doesn't mean they weren't good characters: they were. They were well-formed and interesting. But I walked away knowing that they lived in book land and I lived on earth. Which is fine.
Ethics/Morals: This is one of those books I would love to write at least a half a dozen papers on because it was so theme-rich. I will not write these papers because I am lazy and unmotivated. But Mitchell addresses many important issues. The one that struck me the most was the novel's multi-angular exploration of the concept of power.
Other: I originally picked this book up to read for a book club. It flopped. No one (including myself) could get into it. No one (including me) read it. But last week I was desperate for something to read, so I picked it up again and committed myself to 100 pages before setting it aside again. And after about 50 pages, I couldn't put it down. So keep in mind that while it's a slow starter, you may very well find it worthwhile to persist through the beginning.