Cloud Atlas (20th Anniversary Edition)

A Novel

By: David Mitchell, Gabrielle Zevin - introduction

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Cassandra Campbell, Kim Mai Guest, Kirby Heyborne, John Lee, Richard Matthews, David Mitchell, Gabrielle Zevin

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A timeless, structure-bending classic that explores how actions of individual lives impact the past, present and future—from a postmodern visionary and one of the leading voices in fiction

Featuring a new afterword by David Mitchell and a new introduction by Gabrielle Zevin, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize

Cloud Atlas begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite. The novel careens, with dazzling virtuosity, to Belgium in 1931, to the West Coast in the 1970s, to an inglorious present-day England, to a Korean superstate of the near future where neocapitalism has run amok, and, finally, to a postapocalyptic Iron Age Hawaii in the last days of history.

But the story doesn’t end even there. The novel boomerangs back through centuries and space, returning by the same route, in reverse, to its starting point. Along the way, David Mitchell reveals how his disparate characters connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky.

As wild as a video game, as mysterious as a Zen koan, Cloud Atlas is an unforgettable tour de force that, like its incomparable author, has transcended its cult classic status to become a worldwide phenomenon.


List of Readers:
The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing, read by Scott Brick
Letters From Zedelghem, read by Richard Matthews
Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery, read by Cassandra Campbell
The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, read by John Lee
An Orison of Sonmi~451, read by Kim Mai Guest
Sloosha’s Crossin’ an’ Ev’rythin’ After, read by Kirby Heyborne©2004 David Mitchell; (P)2004 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
FINALIST FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL IMPAC DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD
A Times (UK) Best Book of the Decade
A New York Times Notable Book
A Globe and Mail 100 Best Book
Longlisted for the IMPAC Award

“[David] Mitchell is, clearly, a genius. He writes as though at the helm of some perpetual dream machine, can evidently do anything, and his ambition is written in magma across this novel’s every page.”—The New York Times Book Review

“One of those how-the-holy-hell-did-he-do-it? modern classics that no doubt is—and should be—read by any student of contemporary literature.”—Dave Eggers

“Wildly entertaining . . . a head rush, both action-packed and chillingly ruminative.”—People

“The novel as series of nested dolls or Chinese boxes, a puzzle-book, and yet—not just dazzling, amusing, or clever but heartbreaking and passionate, too. I’ve never read anything quite like it, and I’m grateful to have lived, for a while, in all its many worlds.”—Michael Chabon

“Cloud Atlas ought to make [Mitchell] famous on both sides of the Atlantic as a writer whose fearlessness is matched by his talent.”—The Washington Post Book World

“Thrilling . . . One of the biggest joys in Cloud Atlas is watching Mitchell sashay from genre to genre without a hitch in his dance step.”—Boston Sunday Globe

“Grand and elaborate . . . [Mitchell] creates a world and language at once foreign and strange, yet strikingly familiar and intimate.”—Los Angeles Times

Solid, but had me asking "Really?" at times

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It's a top notch performance, and the story takes you on a great ride

Who was your favorite character and why?

Zachry, he is the promised product that the book spans over centuries for, and is by far the most enjoyable to listen to

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Again Zachry, his performance was so genuine and he left me wishing there was more written about him once his story was complete

If you could rename Cloud Atlas, what would you call it?

Cycles of time

Any additional comments?

The book was captivating, but I noticed the reiteration of one of the books' main themes, and it was painful to hear it stated again and again. It didn't exactly beat the listener over the head with the message, but I would have appreciated it being more subtle, and allowing more room for interpretation. My interpretation was very similar to the message, but differed enough it felt like instructions from the author. This was very minor, and only happened a handful of times, but it was still apparent. Thankfully it didn't take away from the story or characters, but very solid overall.

wonderful

you have to read to understand the amazing stories its pages withold so very good

Cloud Atlas is a remarkable book.

Excellent writing and interweaving stories of significance. Alll the readers were also very good. the movie could not do justice to the depth of this book.

Awesome book

Thoroughly enjoyed the production of the book!! Narrators were wonderful, really brought the book to life. I would recommend this book to everyone!!

Steady Roll Downhill

This book starts a bit confusing and only gets worse. Once I caight on to the general idea, I rather enjoyed part 2. Part is a disjointed and tedious mess. It's so bad I had to give it up for a while---that Hawiian guy was driving me nuts. It is like listening to some street dude drone on poinlessly for hours.

It never really comes back together. Sometimes novel ideas are bad ideas for novels. This doesn't work.

Not as dramatic as the movie, but subtly strong

There's probably a whole lot of room for analysis in the various parts of the stories. I haven't the mind for doing it, since it brings me back to writing analytical essays on The Great Gatsby back in school once upon a time.

If you enjoyed the film version of this, I recommend the book for the completion of certain details on the Sonmi timeline, which is far more complicated than the movie is able to show you.

That said, Luisa Rey's part 2 story kind of made me consider beating myself with a heated toaster. It started to feel like it was making stuff up in order to fill a word count, so that it wasn't shorter than the rest of the book's parts.

The storytelling pace is pretty different, given the way the story is broken up. You really have to look at each piece as its own set of storytelling goals. The last part, for example, is not particularly any more dramatic than the second-to-last, or the third.

At times, I felt as though the themes described by the author are perhaps themselves more interesting than the stories the author chose to describe those themes. In other words, he tells you a story and makes you think about X and Y, which are themselves the interesting topics. The characters and stories are sometimes less memorable, by comparison.

Good book, but I wouldn't rush it if you've got your eye on something else.

Interesting but flamboyant

I found the stories entertaining, with some interesting visuals and even funny situations. Frankly though, and I don't mean to insult my intelligence, I found the author’s writing style hard to follow, and rather flamboyant at times. The author's use of the English language is quite impressive, but does he have to make a delivery effort to make it difficult to understand?

This audio book is very difficult listen when it shouldn't. The stories are at times interesting, but frankly not too exciting, hence the need to be flamboyant.

Great "read", murky message

So, I was wondering what the point was & in the end I got it all laid out for me. A moral preaching. I thought there was an error in the recording when suddenly the first section just cut off in mid-sentence (could never figure out what the purpose of that was). Despite these oddities, I really enjoyed the book. It's engaging, keeps you wondering.

Cloud Atlas: An experience

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

The story was engaging and enthralling. The performances were done by a different actor for each story arc, giving the strong sense of jumping forward and backward, as the story does.

What other book might you compare Cloud Atlas to and why?

While it is not a book, the Movie Memento (2000) has a similar plot arrangement wherein the story is not told A to B but rather meets in the middle.

Which scene was your favorite?

The ordeal of Timothy Cavandish was a laugh riot and an exciting escape story.

If you could rename Cloud Atlas, what would you call it?

I've never been good with names but Cloud Atlas is spot on.

A joy from start to finish

If you could sum up Cloud Atlas in three words, what would they be?

Unique, breathtaking, soulful

What other book might you compare Cloud Atlas to and why?

Cloud Atlas is unique in my experience

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

More than most books, this one seems made to be listened to. There are six characters whose storylines weave together to form the novel. It lends itself perfectly to having six different narrators.

If you could take any character from Cloud Atlas out to dinner, who would it be and why?

SonMie--but I wouldn't take her out to dinner (the question makes me feel like I'm doing a book report in middle school). I would just like to dwell in her presence for a while.

Any additional comments?

I didn't want it to end. As soon as I finished listening I went back and listened to specific characters' stories again.