# Cloud Atlas



## Dephere (Mar 26, 2007)

Anyone read it?

I picked it out at random at B&N the other day and now I'm about halfway through. I love it....it's a nice piece of writing! It's funny and interesting too....


Anyway....I was wondering if David Mitchell's other books were worth reading?

Love to hear....


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## Stewart (Mar 28, 2007)

I've got Mitchell's four books on my shelf although I've not read them. In fact, I started his latest, _Black Swan Green_, but I thought he was trying too hard in his narrative to evoke the eighties (and a child's perception at that) that it seemed a constructed work where you can see the cracks rather than a seamless whole. Especially when, around the same time, M.J. Hyland's _Carry Me Down_, came out and also featured a youth's narrative - and did it better, in my opinion. And many others, it would see, as Hyland's book is still making longlists while Mitchell's has pretty much exhausted its opportunities.


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## Amour (Mar 28, 2007)

Mitchell is easily one of my favorite authors. The man is brilliant. Cloud Atlas is definitely one of my favorite books, and probably my favorite by him. (I promise not to say 'favorite' again in this post.. ) Of the three I have read, I liked Black Swan Green least, though I did think it was a perfect seamless whole. Very creative and well written. It is definitely his most &quot;simple&quot; novel, following one character, and probably the most universally accessible. Deep down, however, it is littered with very nice subtlety. I've heard it called the "English" Catcher in the rye. Number 9 Dream is not as accessible, but just as, if not more, brilliant, and an incredibly fun read. I found myself laughing out loud, and sitting wide eyed at his wit and profound insight into the complexities of human interaction. I haven't read ghostwritten yet, though I've heard great things. Highly recommend all of Mitchell. Love him. Exhausted his opportunities? You mean as an author? I think that David Mitchell is a man of limitless potential, talent, and opportunity.   

(Very short summary of major awards: Ghostwritten won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize ((for best work of British literature written by an author under 35)) and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. His two subsequent novels, number9dream ((2001)) and Cloud Atlas ((2004)), were both shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In 2003, he was selected as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists. Cloud Atlas was also nominated for the 2004 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and won the British Book Award Literary Fiction Award and the Richard & Judy Book of the Year award. Just a short list from a glance at wikipedia.)   

Or did you mean Black swan green was exhausted :-X? Hyland is great, too, for sure.


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## Stewart (Mar 29, 2007)

Amour said:
			
		

> Or did you mean Black swan green was exhausted :-X? Hyland is great, too, for sure.


 
I meant that it is no longer appearing in award lists while Hyland's is. Although, to be fair, Mitchell isn't exactly eligible for the Orange Broadband Prize.


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## Amour (Mar 29, 2007)

Stewart said:
			
		

> I meant that it is no longer appearing in award lists while Hyland's is. Although, to be fair, Mitchell isn't exactly eligible for the Orange Broadband Prize.



Haha, gotcha. Sorry about that.. I misread your post at first. You are right, of course. Hyland's book is amazing and deserves the recognition, but I still do like Mitchell's, even if it isn't making the lists.


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