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balfies's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Cloud Atlas is famously structured like a matryoshka doll with six very different stories, with the protagonist of each tale a reincarnation of the previous story's narrator. Mitchell's ability to craft distinct voices through genre and form is admirable, and he interweaves then with variable success. Some stories are obviously stronger than others - I really got into the Luisa Rey mystery and the clone ethics in Sonmi-451's neo-Seoul uprising.
It also gave me a lot to reflect on the process of adaptation, as I'd seen the Wachowskis' 2012 film version which is far weaker in narrative structure.
Feel like I need all of the strands of this to settle in me properly before I can navigate their meaning. Overall enjoyable prose, but I found the philosophy tenuous and purpose slightly unclear.
It also gave me a lot to reflect on the process of adaptation, as I'd seen the Wachowskis' 2012 film version which is far weaker in narrative structure.
Feel like I need all of the strands of this to settle in me properly before I can navigate their meaning. Overall enjoyable prose, but I found the philosophy tenuous and purpose slightly unclear.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Racial slurs, and Slavery
frogggirl2's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This reads like a series of loosely connected short stories and, like any short story collection, some pieces are better than others. It feels quite disjointed at first but as you go along the connections become more and more apparent.
The writing is great. There's a lot of substance here, but, for me there's just too much content. This point has been made more clearly in other works. The waters here just get too muddied - there's just too many plots to effectively convey the thesis.
**Also, a lot of racism, indicative of the period and disavowed by the book, but unpleasant.
The writing is great. There's a lot of substance here, but, for me there's just too much content. This point has been made more clearly in other works. The waters here just get too muddied - there's just too many plots to effectively convey the thesis.
**Also, a lot of racism, indicative of the period and disavowed by the book, but unpleasant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Addiction, Self harm, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Suicide, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Slavery
marro98's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Homophobia, Genocide, Child death, Animal death, Rape, Suicide, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, War, Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, and Colonisation
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