Cloud Atlas Book Reviews

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Well worth the effort. While the "literary experiment" nature of this book was a bit off-putting at first (What's going on? Why stop the story in the middle?), the rewards are well worth it. Mitchell has a skill that is Shakesphere-like: his different pieces are unique and have such individual voices that you could readily be convinced that this is a collection of different author's stories. I especially liked the nuclear plant mystery, the sci-fi Korean futuristic story, and the post-apocolyptic thriller set in Hawaii.

Excellent. The characters Mr. Mitchell creates are so imaginative and strong. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

Trusting the Author. I came to this book without knowing anything about it. It's quite an unusual book, or rather five or so books, interrelated. One of the "books" is science fiction and future dystopia - something I would never willingly subject myself to. The other parts of the book were so captivating that I consciously decided to trust this writer (he'd gotten me this far, hadn't he?) and I took the sci-fi plunge. Brilliant, exciting captivating! And then back to my other favorite characters. Very fortunate to have found this book and this author.

Crud Atlas. This book came highly recommended and I was highly disappointed. I found the Luisa Rey and Sonmi characters too bland and virtuous and the Timothy Cavendish and Robert Frobisher characters too whiny and craven. The chapter in future Hawaiian pidgin was just annoying. It's okay not to like business or capitalism, but the future as imagined here seems to consist entirely of recycled clichés from bad science fiction movies made in the last 40 years from Soylent Green to Running Man to Rollerball. I was told this book was groundbreaking but I found it boring, heavy-handed and derivative.

Disappointing End. Totally into this book. Wrapped up in trying to figure out where this story is taking me and the deeper level of the multiple intertwined story lines. Really got into the independent story lines and the adventure aspect of them. Then the end comes. One last burp of pseudo insightful philosophy. So disappointing. Made me feel like the entire story could have been skipped and this could have been published as an affirmation placard sold in an organic coffee shop/dog treat bakery. I won't see the movie but for those who do, I hope Hollywood came up with a more meaningful and profound ending.

A Must Read. Just a phenomenal book on so many levels. Having read it once, you will want a second reading, to really grasp all of its nuances may take three or more.

Lucciano. Very difficult to follow theme in this book, not sure what author was trying to convey. Maybe when I see the movie the answers will reveal themselves.

Can't get past Chapter 1!. I want to get into this book. I really do. But I am having difficulty. Cannot relate to the characters yet. Cannot relate to the scenes yet. Cannot relate to the storyline yet. Have already read a couple of other books in the time I have begun Cloud Atlas. Giving it 3 stars because it has to be good. I subtracted star #4 for myself, due to my own fustration. 😜

Excellent book.. Reading this book helped to understand some of the elements of the movie. I have a bad habit of starting to watch a movie hafway in, then getting around to watching the beginning of the flick. You can't do that with this film adaptation. So i read the book. Very well written. Is this a new genre? Multiple story lines, seemingly different but tied together by trascendental threads woven throughout? I found this book very mentally challenging - but there is a reward for the reader that sees it thru.

Incredible. This is one of the best books I've ever read. And I've read it twice and listened to it once. Mitchell manages to create both distinct voices and writing styles for his characters, and the "nestled" structure he uses is amazing. His take on human nature and it's ability to both create wonders untold and horrors unimaginable is deeply moving. My only advise is to read the center section out loud, as it sounds better than it reads (when you get to it, you'll understand). Highly recommended.

Cloud Atlas. Greatest Book in the history of mankind!

Brilliantly epic!!!!. Just an amazing ride!!!

Mind-bending. An incredible meta-layered confection of a story. Each of the seven narrations are tone-perfect in their individual way. But the sum of the parts paints a fatalistic arc of human civilzation that left me quite shook.

Original & creative. Thank you David Mitchell for creating such breath taking stories.

Cloud atlas. Great

Cloud Atlas. Ugh. Scattered and confusing. Not what I thought it was going to be. Very loosely associated in "lives". I struggled through this book to my disappointment.

Surprisingly Interesting. When I first started reading I was nervous because the story didn't seem interesting. As I continued to read I began to appreciate the mystery and connection among the characters. I liked how the author presented each characters story through different methods of written communication. I also appreciated the historical perspectives within some of the characters stories. Slow go in the beginning but quickly picks up. Going to see the movie tonight.

5 Great stories for the price of one. Great novel that highlights interconnectivity of humanity throughout timel

Cloud Atlas. Easily the best book I've read. A religious experience that I think on almost daily. I have such high hopes for the film version.

Cloud atlas: a novel. Disappointing. Just not a compelling read, Can't imagine anyone thinking this is movie material, but I will check it out when it comes to Red Box.

Hard read.. I was very excited Bout this book and then very disappointed. I read all the great reviews and could wait to crack it open! I found myself very confused. You jump into someones journal writings with no preface or dates on the entires I had to go back and reread them after I had gotten further along in the book. The second chapter is the same but at least there were dates on the letters. The writing concept is great but confusing! Unfortunately I had to put the book down, I never put a book down! A book this size would normally take me two days to read and after two weeks and still being confused and tired or rereading the chapters I decided no ending would be worth the effort.

Horrible!. This is a novel that people talk and write about with great affection and even reverence...so when I bought it I was expecting an engaging, well-writen story that I wouldn't be able to put down. Turns out putting it down wasn't the problem, it was picking it back up. None of the stories are particularly interesting, and the writing is not engaging at all. It is often disjointed as well, with little other than a weak "we are all connected" plot device to link everything together. Much of the dialogue for the story that centers around journalist Louisa Rey seems to have pulled from a random science fiction novel or B-movie. The post-apocalyptic story of Zachary and Meronym is downright unreadable and impossible to follow. The story centered around the replicant Sonmi~451 goes from being a half-hearted Brave New World wannabe to resembling a bizarre viva la revolution mess that could only be improved if it resembled Woody Allen's "Bananas!" more. The first two stories set in the Pacific and in Belgium respectively, are just uninteresting. The entire book in fact is just boring. I hope the movie is an improvement. Although The Guardian did review it, and my favorite line from their review was "I spent the whole time wondering why there was a Post mint stuck to Halle Berry's forehead." Makes me wonder if the filmmakers have indeed captured the failings of the book and stuffed it inside a $100 million dollar turkey.

Wonderful. This novel was amazing from start to finish. The first jump between characters was a little disconcerting but I found myself quickly immersed in each new narrative. The quality of the writing is so vivid that it's more like watching a movie in your head than reading a book. I will definitely be reading the author's other works, and can't wait to see the movie based on this one.

Masterful. I read the good and bad reviews, but decided that if it became a movie there has to be some merit to the novel. The summary of the book does it justice and I agree completely with the comparison to Eco (though I've only read 'Name of the Rose' which I also highly recommend.) Which is also to say that this story is not for everyone. I'm not trying to say that "if you not an intellectual you won't like this…" because I've tried twice to read "Tale of Two Cities" and failed because it bored me too much to get past the first 100 pages. But after listening to the book I think I'm going to try TTC again. The story is rich, and well smithed (pun intended…you'll understand if you read/listen to it). The best I can do is to describe it as a web of seemingly disconnected stories that, as you get into the chapters, start to resemble fractal patterns. Each pattern weaving itself into the next as much as they are distanced from the beginning only to flow back into what seems to be the very pattern they originated from. The characters and their stories are interesting on their own, but are entirely connected components of core themes and a single tale. There wasn't a word wasted. This is on my list to listen to again, but likely read for the first time (and enjoy a second). I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Great writing!. This is one of my all time favorite books. After several readings, it still entertains and reaches a level of uncommon excellence. Just read it!

Wonderful but.... This book is a work of art in terms of character development and interlocking stories. HOWEVER if you have not experienced the writing style of David Mitchell or seen Cloud Atlas as the movie first, this book may be a bit challenging and quite extraneous to read. It's a whole collection of stories that effortlessly fit together if you can open your mind to the differences and similarities of each character and their time period. It is an amazing book and I have never read anything like it before. It's weirdly strange, yet so utterly captivating!

A masterpiece!. Sometimes I sit on my balcony, watch the traffic and just think about life. What is it all about; what’s the point? What does my life amount to? I don’t mean this in the whiny or sad way, more in the pensive/intellectual way. I had always kind of come up with a blank at the end of my thoughts, that is, until I read Cloud Atlas. I know that the book, and subsequent movie, are quite divisive, so I’m not going to tell you that this book is going to change your life or that it’s going to be some majorily profound expereince for you. However, in some small way, the book did change mine. David Mitchell’s masterpiece somehow managed to teach me about what it’s all about. There’s one other interesting thing I learned reading this book. The simplest of all messages can take in excess of 500 pages to really convey. It’s the beauty of the written word, and something that Mitchell thoroughly taps into. To be honest, the central message of this book has been done before. It has just never been done quite like this—or anything like this for that matter. This is one of those books i’ll be coming back to for a very long time.

Yawn. I thought it would be better than the movie but not really

Cloud Atlas Hilarious. A thoughtful but hilarious romp about civilization’s misguided dictators. Music9man

Cloud Atlas. Yes it takes a bit getting used to the somewhat jarring timeline changes but well worth it. The language is superb even in the various formats. The characters are compelling.

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