Writing doesn't get any better than this. In this single book, the author has proved his facility with almost any form of prose imaginable, expounding high ideas with a humourous and self-deprecating undertone. I can’t imagine any literary-minded peeps not loving this masterpiece (I chuckled about some of the negative reviews. The writing is not pompous or pretentious - that's simply the way any normally educated writer utilizes the Queen's. Also this is not a gimmicky mystery that concludes with a spectacular American climax - it's a rumination). I recommend reading Mitchell's "Ghostwritten" first to get an intro into his style.

A stunningly subtle and intricately connected story about the power and importance of social activism and tolerance. The construction of multiple parallels with countless themes reverberating out from the center and in from both ends, not to mention the effortless switching between genres and voices, is simply amazing. I found Cloud Atlas a little hard to get into at first, but after reaching the midway point, found myself unable to put it down. This can be a difficult book and it's not for everybody, but I enjoyed it and was completely blown away by the author's skill in constructing it.

My favorite book of the last many years. I found the individual stories fascinating and intricate, while the interweaving of these even more so. Thought the movie was quite good but nothing beats the book.

Saw the movie first, which made me want to read the book. So I'm not sure how much my impression is colored by the movie. I thought Mitchell did a very good job writting in different styles for each storyline. I appreciate how the book goes forward through time, then backward, unlike the confusing jumpy moves that the film made. The end still seems a little flat and preachy.

David Mitchell’s *Cloud Atlas,* released in 2004, fits the definition of a sleeper hit. Ridiculously well reviewed, its unconventional composition threw many early readers. It took time for word of mouth to spread from those tenacious readers who made it far enough into the book to make sense of Mitchell’s ambitious project. Eventually, even Hollywood caught on, so those of you who’re interested in the premise but frustrated by the execution can go take it all in on the silver screen right now. You could. But I really think you should read the book first, and not just because I’m a librarian.<br /> *Cloud Atlas* is composed of six separate stories fit together like matroishka dolls. It begins with the epistolary narrative of a man at sea in the South Pacific in the 1860s, witnessing the last gasps of the slave trade and the messy, colonial birth of global capitalism and industrialism. The flowery writing perfectly suits a 19th-century adventure tale full of pirates, sailing, exploring and riches. However, just as the action begins to really pick up, the narrative ends mid-sentence.<br /> Another – seemingly unrelated – narrative begins. It follows the couch-surfing adventures of a brilliant composer named Robert Frobisher through 1930s Europe. Full of witty, Wildean dialogue, this narrative is more than entertaining enough to carry the reader through to Frobisher’s discovery of a book sharing the title of *Cloud Atlas*’s interrupted opening narrative in the South Pacific. <br /> Having just gotten readers comfortable, Mitchell again shifts focus; this time, we land in a 1970s-era spy thriller that references Frobisher. Why? No explanation’s given, and the narrative breaks again. Now we follow the head of a vanity publishing house through a comedy of errors leaving him imprisoned in a nursing home in our current time. Then we jump to the testimony of a human clone genetically optimized for food service, testifying her experience living in a hyper-commercialized dystopian version of future-Korea to a corporate archivist. Then we land in post-apocalyptic Hawai’i, where an elder tells his life story in orature. This narrative is the deepest in the layered intertextuality of *Cloud Atlas* – after hearing Zachary Bailey’s life story we move in reverse order back through the other half of the nesting narratives begun earlier in the novel.<br/ > Technically composed of six well-crafted novellas interlaced in unexpected ways, the weighty consequence of each narrative relies on all the others to be fully realized. *Cloud Atlas* could alternatively have been titled Frankfurt School’s Instrumental Reason: The Novel, but those with no background in Continental philosophy will still find much to love here, if they take the time. *Cloud Atlas* is highly recommended to fans of Margaret Atwood, Ursula K Le Guin or any literary science fiction. It is also recommended to any readers of literary fiction who don’t mind some serious experimentation, and who love beautifully crafted language.

I was not pleased with this book at all; its construction, character or message. I was roped end by the hype and was sorely disappointed. Two of the short stories could have worked to together but there was no true linking plot to tight it all together (that I felt). The best thing for me is the reward of getting through a 500+ paged book but getting to the end was a TRUE disappointment. PS - I highly doubt the movie could fair any better especially with Halle Berry and Tom Hanks playing multiple roles.

I found the stories weird. By the time I was able to wrap my mind around a story, it ended and skipped on to another one. Then it came about after 60 pages later.

This is the best book I read in a long time. Grand scheme. Each of the 6 stories is a gem in its own right. May be a bit slow in the beginning, but hang on, you're in for a treat.

This was a wonderful book. Those people who thought it was so hard to get through, should use their brains more often and maybe thinking won't be so hard to do.'

I am glad that I had the chance to read the novel...it's been on my "To-Read List" for a long time. Still...I did not enjoy it. Reading this novel was very laborious - and this detracted from my enjoyment. It's always tougher to get through a book when it feels like a task instead of a pleasure. Mitchell's style was too verbose; yes, this added authenticity to certain characters, but egads...it hurt my eyes to push through it! If the author's strategy is to impress readers by using big words, it didn't work on me. It seemed pompous. My irritation with his style just escalated while I was reading the futuristic sections of the book. Again, I appreciate the author's attempt to be authentic, but a lot of my enjoyment drained away as I found myself having to re-read sentences in order to make sense of them. The assumption that kept me pushing through the novel was that there would be a fantastic "a-ha moment" at the end which would tie all six characters together in a breathtaking epiphany. When that failed to happen, I felt pretty disgruntled. Most frustrating, to me, was to come to the end of the novel and say, "Well...what was the MESSAGE?" and realize that I really had no clue. This was both humbling and disappointing. I think all the hype about this book must be either (a) because of the movie or (b) because people are impressed with big words. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAPEpD...