BOUGHT THIS FOR THE SUMMER SOLSTICE NSSSS .... FOR SOMEONE SHHHHH !!!
HAPPY READING PARTNER
DENISE X

Whoooh! Thank you for my NSSSS book - it's fab! You star. May you have a happy, happy solstice.

I'm not sure what I think about this book... I didn't altogether enjoy it, yet I did enjoy it. Hmmm.

I think this is because the book is several stories in several sections, each with its own separate writing style. It starts with a notary in the 19th-century, then passes to a composer in the 1930s, then on to a modern-day journalist, then to a publisher, then leaps into the future, and then further into the future. There are links between the stories, but they weren't solid, satisfying links. The section I enjoyed the most was the Luise Rey story (the journalist), which was very pacy with intrigue. The was thoughtful section was Somni (the first future section) as it raises a lot of questions about our society at present.

Hmmm. I will offer this book up as a ring to see what other bookcrossers think. Maybe I'll revisit the book in the future to try and figure it out. I sense there's a deeper meaning in there somewhere.

Back cover blurb
Six interlocking lives - one amazing adventure. In a narrative that circles the globe and reaches from the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of time,genre and language to offer an enthralling vision of humanity's will to power, and where it will lead us.

The Ring and its players:
catsalive (Australia)
symphonicca (Canada)
Jaqen (Canada)
MissQ (Canada)
badgoat (USA)
megi53 (USA)
Ebumu (USA)
4-lele (USA)
concertina8 (Austria)
laurakateknits (UK)
Jenatleisure (UK)
Vauxhallcrosser (UK)

...and back to me

This book has arrived quickly to join Mt TBR. Thanks, Squirk. I'll get to it as soon as I can.

Wow! Was that hard work, or what? I don't know if I enjoyed it or not either, but it certainly was interesting. That middle section, Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After, was extremely hard going. I understand that Mitchell wanted the language to be different but all those apostrophes were annoying. I enjoyed Luisa Rey, Timothy Cavendish & Sonmi-451, but the rest was just a slog.

It certainly gives one to think. I've always thought that the sooner the human race wipes itself out the better, and we will do it eventually. Unfortunately, we'll take all other living things with us. The Earth will recover, though, and new life will evolve in a few million years.

I guess my main thought throughout the book was "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose." (Alphonse Karr. Les Guepes, January 1849.) The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I'll send this on as soon as I have an address for symphonicca. Posted 4/11/5.

P.S. Nice bookmark, Squirk.

Yahoooo!! Just caught this in my mail box during a very blustery and rainy day--- in fact, a very cloudy day..... a coincidence perhaps? :) (or perhaps not--- I live on the ocean and it is overcast/foggy every second day)

I very much look forward to reading this book-- have heard a lot of good things about it (though it sounds like the previous readers are luke-warm?) Thanks for passing it along--- will get to it soon, and journal when I am done or close to done.

Just a quick note to let you know I haven't absconded with this book--- I am quite a slow reader (one of those people who has to read every word-- I love the context a writer creates as much as the storyline). So, I am still reading it, and am thoroughly enjoying the read.

I am about 2/3 through, and am still trying to connect all the threads and understand the overarching pattern. But I love the detail and thoroughness of each narrative voice. While obviously the person in each is different, I am also enjoying the subtle changes that speak to the culture of a particular voice--- like the frankness of Frobisher, or the pared-down spellings in Sonmi's passage (no 'night'-- just 'nite'--- nothing superfluous or extraneous, even when it comes to letters in a word--- i love it!).

Anyway, I will reserve comment on the overall story until I am done the book. But I anticipate giving a good review! :)

I loved this book. I can understand why previous readers didn't take to certain bits of the book-- it is a long read, to be sure, and some of the writing styles are hard on the head. But for me, I LOVED the way he was able to explore such broad and human themes, but through six seperate yet connected voices! Frankly, it blew me away, despite (or perhaps because of?) the variety of voices and textures in the narrative!

YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READER FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILER-TYPE REVIEWS

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So many themes I would love to explore within this book--- so little time. :)

There were some obvious threads that connected the protagonists--- the comet-shaped birthmark (the mark of the devil, mark of a black sheep, mark of genius?), their struggles to break free of whatever was holding them back from realizing their full potential, or thier mission (Ewing- his 'headworm' and simplistic sense of right and wrong, Frobisher- his love for another and of himself, Rey- her sense of duty and pursuit of truth, Sonmi- her genetics and context, Valleymen- The Kona and the perceived dangers of knowledge, Tom- the respite house and his general stubborness).

I loved this theme of overcoming obstacles-- it was done with such variety of story, and yet with single-mided purpose and revelation. And of course, struggle unites people in very visceral ways, even when they seem to be struggling for very different things. In the end though, all the characters seemed to be working towards or for the same things--- and Ewings last letter illustrated that so well (I loved the last pages of the books-- what a tie-up!). To me, it is about striving for personal truth and justice, both for one's self and for others--- seeking authenticity, genuine living and freedom. If I look at each of the stories from this perspective, it really changes the tone and tenor of the book for me. Love it!

Other themes in this book were a little more lost on me however, and I would need to hash it out with other people to better understand their significance. For instance, fish played a role in all of the stories, sometimes in subtle ways, sometimes not. But I am sure this has relevance--- something about water and fluidity, or some such thing. Would love to hash it out.

And there was a lot of focus on heads--- from sonmi's facescaping to Ewings 'headworm' to Tom's stroke. I imagine the focus on heads has a lot to do with memory, etc.... I am sure that contained some sort of allegory I can't fully put my finger on--- I guess the book is still too fresh in MY head to play with it yet.

Other wonderful examples of allegories, metaphors and story-telling abound in this book, but I will stop my ramblings there.

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Suffice it to say this book was one of my fave reads of the year, and I will be spending a lot of time thinking more about the ideas, themes and characters in it. I will also be recommending this book to everyone who asks! :) Thanks so much for starting this bookray--- I have thoroughly appreciated having the opportunity to read it!

Have PMed the next on the list--- will send it out when I get an address.

Mailed to the next in line Dec. 19, 2005

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PS: Should anyone be interested, I have started a bookring with David Mitchell's first book, "Ghostwritten". Please PM me if you would like to join, and I would be happy to add you!

Arrived in the mail over the holidays, unfortunately after I’d left on vacation, otherwise I could’ve worked over a good chunk on the plane.

Will do my best to read as quickly as possible and not get distracted by the piles and piles of other books surrounding me.

BTW, sweet bookmark!

I kept the book for three months, and felt it was time to pass it on. Sorry! I just didn't have enough free time to squeeze this in. I did enjoy what I read, though, so my inability to finish the book should not be taken as negative feedback, but rather an indication of my scattered life right now. So on it goes…

This just arrived today. It's next on my list and I will try my best to get through it fairly fast - it is a thick book though so it may take some time. I hope that's OK.

Finally finished this off a few days ago. I really enjoyed it, though it took me a while to get into it and it is pretty long. I love the way the stories were all interconnected, sometimes it was almost a bit of a challenge to see the similarities. I also liked the way Mitchell went from the past to the future and back again.

I will get the address of the next on the list and get this off in a couple of weeks during my trip to Maine.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent on to the next on the list with time to read it - Megi53.

Just got it a minute ago -- perfect timing; now that the 2006 Booker longlist is out, I'm eager to read something by David Mitchell. I'm nearly finished with my current ring (Whisky Galore by Compton MacKenzie) so I'll be able to start Cloud Atlas this week.

The tension from the six-part stylistic device was great! I actually had to post for advice in the Book Talk forum to keep from skipping ahead when Adam Ewing's journal ended so abruptly.

My favorite story was "Sloosha's Crossin'". Meronym and the first hints of Mitchell's reincarnation theme were fascinating. At the end of Zachry's tale, I thought this was the best book I'd read in years.

The concluding sections contained some letdowns, though. Spoiler:

That grisly bathtub suicide!

Adam's philosophical stance reminded me of a kinder, gentler Jack London (and I don't mean that in a positive way).

The Luisa Rey story was exciting all the way, though. And in Timothy Cavendish, I loved the "Are there nor trrruuue Scortsmen in tha hooossse?" scene.

A good book for rereading; and I'm sure I'll take another crack at a library or UBS copy in a year or two.

Mailing to Ebumu this afternoon.

Cloud Atlas arrived today--thanks to all of you! I've been thinking about books today, after talking to an old, old friend who is starting a children's library in Amravati, India. This city of 700,000 souls lacks a single public library. Can you imagine? She asked me for help coming up with a short justification or slogan or mission statement for her effort. Something that conveys to potential donors why those kids need a library... For me, this is so incredibly obvious, I'm having trouble putting it into words. Who actually needs to be convinced that kids need a library? And what could you possibly say to convince such a person?? If you have any brilliant ideas, let me know!

I've been looking forward to reading Cloud Atlas, even though some of your journal entries suggest it may not be as fun as it sounded. I'll let you know how it affects me as soon as I'm done. Happy reading!

I'm sorry I hung onto this book for so long. You can all give my knuckles a sharp rap. In the end I didn't read it--could never even get into it despite a handful of tries. It seems like a book for people with long attention spans! It went out to 4-lele today with my good wishes (media mail).

Since I wrote last in the Fall my friend Asha's Indian library project has taken off. She just came back from a visit during which she opened ten new branches, each with a stock of 200 books. All the books are in Marathi, the language of central India, and the libraries are in rented rooms, staffed by local volunteers. Her photos of beaming little faces and proud parents speak volumes. Her daughter (my oldest friend!) held a birthday party/fundraiser last week and raised enough money for a bookmobile!