Book review: Cloud Atlas
A few months ago, I saw the very interesting trailer for the upcoming movie Cloud Atlas. When I learned it was based on a book, I decided I would read it.
Cloud Atlas, written by David Mitchell, won the British Book Awards Literary Fiction Award and was shortlisted for among others the Booker Prize. The book tells six stories, taking place in different eras: three are historical, one takes place in the current time and two stories and futuristic. What makes the novel really different though, is the fact that all stories are only told half and then interrupted, the last story is told in full and after that all the other stories are picked up again. It is also revealed each story of the book is being read or watched by the main character from the next story. The book starts in the mid-19th century, detailing the journal of an American notary returning by ship from Australia. His journal is found by a young English musician, working for a succesfull composer in Belgium in the 20s. His story is composed of letters he writes to a friend. The letters are read by journalist Luisa Rey in the 60s. She investigates reports that a nearby nuclear power plant might be unsafe. Her story is sent as a manuscript for a novel to Timothy Cavendish. On the run from henchman from a gangster client, Timothy is confined against his will in a nursing home. In Neo So Copros, a dystopian future version of Korea, Sonmi 451 is a cloned waitress. She rebels against the treatment of her kind by the totalitarian society and watches the story of Timothy Cavendish as a movie. Sonmi’s story lives on as a legend and is still told in post-apocalyptic Hawaii, where the tribe of Zachry is visited by members of the last remnant of technologically advanced civilization.
The six stories of Cloud Atlas are widely different and made to appear more so by the different writing styles of the parts. The stories are written as letters, an interview, a journal, either in first, second or third person narrative. The stories taking place in the future are even written in a different grammar. Despite this, all the stories are very much connected and collectively tell a larger story of humanity.
Despite it’s complex design, Cloud Atlas’ prose is quite easy to read and has a pleasant flow to it. The stories itself are rather cheerless, emphasizing mainly humanities weaknesses and faults. This is not a book if you’re looking for a romantic read, as it’s views on romantic relationships are rather grim. I personally most enjoyed the stories taking place in the future. They give cleverly crafted views of what our world could become and are different from many other futuristic stories by choosing Korea and Hawaii for a setting. Through all the stories runs a theme of reincarnation. Aside from the fact that I do not agree with such a view myself, the theme was worked out too lightly to be convincing. I felt this part of the stories to be only in the way.
In short, Cloud Atlas is a very interesting and unique, but not a very relaxing read.
With respect to the movie adaptation, though I have only seen the trailer and one should never judge a movie on just that; it seems the movie will be quite a deviation from the novel. The age of some of the main characters looks different in the trailer and there seems to be more of an emphasis on the romantic storylines. I will probably watch the movie though, the cinematography looks gorgeous and it has a large number of well-known actors, such as Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess and Ben Whishaw.
Click to view