This book is on the 1001 Books to Read Before you Die list and I've been wanting to read it for a while. I found this copy in the Bargain Books section of McNally Robinson when I went to spend the gift certificate my boss gave me as a retirement present. It was obviously meant to be purchased by me.

After years of hearing about Cloud Atlas and wanting to read it I finally bought myself a copy. It was as good as I wanted it to be which is rather unusual because rarely do books live up to their advance billing.
The book is a series of 6 nested stories ranging from the 1800s to the far future. At first it is hard to tell what the stories have to do with each other but if you suspend your criticism you will discover the connection. In each story the main character discovers the story of the previous section although not the whole story because each breaks off at a crucial point. Then, after the sixth story the truncated stories are completed so that the book begins and ends in the 1800s. It is a unique and, I think, brilliant way of structuring a book.
Many big themes are touched on in this book: slavery, artistic rights, corporate greed, pollution, insurrection, societal breakdown, religion, reincarnation. It’s a cautionary tale, for sure.
Now that a movie has been made of the book Mitchell has added a postscript about his involvement with it. I think I will have to rent this movie because I can’t quite imagine how they can make a 2 hour film about it. Mitchell seems to approve of the handling though so it must stay true to his vision.

I left this book in a box for free real estate listings just outside of the store. Then I went into the shop and bought some bread and cookies. I'm eating one of these delicious cookies right now!
This release is for the 2014 52 Towns in 52 Weeks release challenge - Town #38.