This book was quite satisfying. At first (and reading reviews) I thought the structure would seem gimmicky. But I think it worked well and kept me off balance and engrossed in the progress of the story. Liked it. ( )

David Mitchell shows that he can write in any style with any character voice, and get away with it convincingly. Six apparently disparate stories that link with each other across time.

=>David Mitchell can write historical novels: That's THE PACIFIC JOURNAL OF ADAM EWING, with an American notary traveling in 1850 between the Chatham Isles to California.

=>David Mitchell can write brilliant satire and social commentary: LETTERS FROM ZEDELGHEM follows disinherited bisexual nobleman and thief Robert Frobisher as he helps an English composer in Belgium in the 1930s write down his musical ideas, while he, Robert, composes his Cloud Atlas sextet, sleeps with the composer's wife, and falls in love with their daughter.

=>David Mitchell can write fast-paced neo-noir: HALF-LIVES, THE FIRST LUISA REY MYSTERY: spunky girl reporter, whose dead father was once a cop fighting corruption. A chance encounter with Rufus Sixsmith (to whom Letters from Zedelghem from 40 years earlier are addressed), leads her to investigate a local nuclear reactor whose workings are deadly for just about everyone involved with the project.

=>David Mitchell can write humor: THE GHASTLY ORDEAL OF TIMOTHY CAVENDISH follows a sixty-something publisher, trapped in an old folks' home, trying to figure out who his octogenarian accomplices will help him in a prison break from the home.

=>David Mitchell can write science fiction: AN ORISON OF SONMI-451, a dystopian Korean society revealed through the eyes of a clone slave in a soul-less corporatocracy who manages to break free and in the process starts a revolution.

=>And David Mitchell can write like he never learned the rules of English grammar: SLOOSHA’S CROSSIN’ AN’ EV’RYTHIN’ AFTER -- another dystopian, far-in-the-future, set-in-Hawaii story, told through the eyes (and painful language) of a goat herder.

All the stories connect, but you're better off seeing the movie, since the Wachowskis (of The Matrix fame) manage to tie the stories together better than the author does. Just turn on the subtitles for the goat herder's part. ( )

A perfect self-referential symmetric composition with an indigestible center piece. ( )

It took a bit to get into this book, mainly because the language of Adam Ewig's journal was a bit hard to get used to, and there didn't seem to be much of a plot going on. Once I got through the first bit, and I enjoyed it a lot more and really started appreciating the "nesting dolls" style of storytelling. I'm a bit unsure of my interpretation of events is what Mitchell intended, but I saw each story as taking place in different worlds, but that they could still very much be in the same. I saw precursors to the hyper-commercialization of Somni's world in Louisa Rey's and Timothy Cavendish's, and I could see Somni's world becoming the post-apocalyptic world of Zachry's.

I really enjoyed this and am glad I read it. ( )

Easily became one of my favourite books. The beginning is a bit hard to get into due to the author's effort of using period-specific language and also due to the structure of the story, however after the first chapter, you will notice the pace begin to quicken. I found the plot to be thrilling and engaging. The author is skilled in the way he incorporates central themes into every chapter and by the end, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the philosophy came together.

I would highly recommend Cloud Atlas to those that enjoy science fiction/fantasy or who are looking for an adventurous book that has a strong but well-weaved intellectual thread in it. ( )