Cloud Atlas

By: David Mitchell

Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith, Charles Collingwood, Jane Collingwood

Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan's California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified 'dinery server' on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation; the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each others' echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.

In his extraordinary third novel, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of language, genre and time to offer a meditation on humanity's dangerous will to power, and where it may lead us.

©2005 David Mitchell (P)2005 Hodder & Stoughton Audiobooks

Critic Reviews

"David Mitchell has fast established himself as a novelist of considerable authority and power... Anyone who read his remarkable debut, or its successor, number9dream, will instantly recognise the characteristic moves and bold gestures of this amazing extravaganza. His novels have a gleefully kleptomaniac air, moving from the most tawdry thrills to thunderous, visionary spectacle; they are unlike anything else, and you emerge from them dazed, amazed, unsure of the exact nature of the overwhelming experience... a tremendous novel... Cloud Atlas is one of the most shamelessly exciting books imaginable... Mitchell is a novelist who knows exactly what he is doing, and one who is always one or two steps ahead of the reader; and at the end it seems to evaporate like the best dream you ever had." (Philip Hensher, Spectator)

Many stories all join together

This was a difficult book to read, hearing the different chapters and the different people made it much easier to understand.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Do your homework

What disappointed you about Cloud Atlas?

As I started reading, I realised this was the abridged version. I always read the full version. Unfortunately, the unabridged version is not available where I live, so I had to buy the book. Didn't get around to reading it in time to return it. My fault for not checking. Have since read the book & it was amazing - I can only imagine that anyone reading the abridged version wold be totally confused, as many people who watched the movie without reading the book were.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Didn't spend enough time on the book to comment

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I didn't finish reading it so, cannot comment.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Huhhhh???????????

Very artsy farsty, with hidden meaning everywhere. The individual stories at some points where confusing, and then to mesh them together, it just didn't work for me. I loved The Thousand Autumns so I was disappointed with this.

A Novel in Babuschka Doll Form

Would you consider the audio edition of Cloud Atlas to be better than the print version?

I read the book years ago, so this was my second time around. The audio edition was brilliant, as the novel contains 6 stories folding in and then out of each other and having each story's narrator voiced individually really brought each one to life in a unique way.

Miscast. Hacked the book to pieces. Read in full.

This abridged version doesn't come close to doing justice to the actual book. The core storyline is there but most of Mitchell's fine writing and nearly all of the subtleties in humour are lost. There are some very talented readers (for Cavendish and Zachry) but others might make you feel uncomfortable; some are poorly cast indeed. If you are truly interested in the story, read the book or wait for the unabridged version-- which might be better done if it was one person reading (not trying to act) throughout. This is an incredible work of fiction and so much of its brilliance lies in Mitchell's way with words. Don't be short-changed by this version that is overly reductive and fails to capture the nuances of a truly great work.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

What a great read!

I loved this book. Its structure is interesting with its interconnecting narratives, and the use of different actors really helps to delineate these clearly. It's so great to read a book that really demonstrates a breadth of imagination and style way beyond anything that I could come up with myself. Luisa Rey a compelling story, Robert Frobisher the most wonderfully flawed cad, Timothy Cavendish's desperate plight hilarious. Sloosha (apologies for spelling, know it must be wrong!) the only one that bemused me, I'll revisit it - certainly easier to grasp in audio than written version.
Anyway, if you like short stories this is a must, as it develops the genre further and tells them in ways which make you think about them long after you have finished reading. Always entertaining, by turns witty, alarming, uplifting, shocking, moving - a great read!

8 of 11 people found this review helpful

An amazing story to listen to

Where does Cloud Atlas rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

At the top of my list

What did you like best about this story?

It was engaging and thought provoking and a story that kept me both intrigued and committed until the end .

Which scene did you most enjoy?

They were all so different that it is impossible to identify a particular scene .

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Numerous moments to be honest....

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend you to at least give this audio book a go.

Average

I decided to give this a listen before going to see the film but after listening to it gave the film a miss. Although interesting to begin with the jumping timelines and characters began to grate towards the end. The multiple narrators used for different characters also seemed good to begin with but in the end just became annoying, The story was good but I don't think I will be giving it another listen and will wait until the film is on TV.

Not as memorable as I thought it might be

Nice idea fairly well written and well read. I think I woudloffer it a 3.5. It just lacked the untimely quality I was expecting. But worth a listen or read.

1 of 3 people found this review helpful