A book that has been the biggest mystery of my stint as a reader. Not in terms of its story, but in terms of the writing. I am still not sure whether I am a fan of this novel or not.
Cloud Atlas is a compilation of six stories from six different places and times that are somehow interlinked. The first five stories are each interrupted at a pivotal moment. After the sixth story, the others are resolved in reverse chronological order. It is a hugely ambitious novel connecting characters through divergent times. From Adam Ewing's mid-nineteenth century sea-voyage to Sonmi's ascent to sentience at a dystopian futuristic Korea. In fact, it goes so further into the future that it becomes indistinguishable from the past and collapses back in on itself, ending exactly where it began.
Even though this book has a fabulous meaning to it, if you really want to see it (which I will get into soon), but that doesn't change the fact that Mitchell also did an incredible job to confuse the readers. Not only did I have to go back several pages and that too multiple times to understand the context of the ongoing story, but it is also hard to categorize this book and put it under the umbrella of a certain type of genre, as it could be a mixture of historical fables or science fiction or post-apocalyptic dystopia.
However, it cannot be denied that the book is trying really hard to put out a message to the readers, especially about slavery and captivity as it exists in all its forms, at all points of time. Throughout history, humans have enslaved each other based on skin color and racial background, religious beliefs, and cultural or ethnic differences. This novel goes a step further by exploring the concept of knowledge and how it relates to the socioeconomic hierarchy of the future.
All in all, I can admit this novel is a brilliant puzzle filled with exciting characters, entertaining dialogue, and throws enough loops to keep you guessing. You will find it very difficult to put this novel down. Mitchell achieves his goal of transcending conventions and addressing the broad scope of humanity and is at times bitter, funny, frightening, paranoid, and downright tragic.
Happy Reading!!!
