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Review: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
9th July 2013 09:32 PM
Victoria Silverwolf
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004)
Authors who are considered to be part of the literary mainstream have often produced works which are clearly science fiction. Well known examples include Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (winner of the first Arthur C. Clarke Award) and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (nominated for the Clarke Award as well as the mainstream Man Booker Prize.) Both of these novels have also been adapted into feature films. To this distinguished list we can add David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas — or at least one third of it.
Cloud Atlas is really six short novels in one. “The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing” is a historical adventure set in the South Seas in the 1850′s. “Letters From Zedelghem” is a social drama set in Belgium in the 1930′s. “Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery” is a violent thriller set in California in the 1970′s. “The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish” is a black comedy set in the United Kingdom in modern times. “An Orison of Sonmi-451″ is high-tech science fiction set in Korea in the near future. “Sloosha’s Crossin’ an’ Ev’rythin’ After” is post-apocalyptic science fiction set in Hawaii in the far future.
Five of the narratives are divided into two parts, with one half preceding the uninterrupted far future section and one half following it. The structure of the book thus resembles a mirror, or perhaps someone climbing a mountain and then descending the other side. The “chapters” appear in this order: 1850′s, 1930′s, 1970′s, modern, near future, far future, near future, modern, 1970′s, 1930′s, 1850′s.
Although the six novellas can be read independently, there are many connections among them. The young man to whom “Letters From Zedelghem” is addressed appears, decades later, as a major character in “Half-Lives.” The protagonist of “An Orison of Sonmi-451″ is worshipped as a goddess in the far future. There are hints, particularly a comet-shaped birthmark shared by various persons, that many of the characters in later sections are reincarnations of characters from previous sections.
Cloud Atlas is more than just a clever way for the author to show his ability to create six very different stories. Each of the novellas, with the possible exception of “Letters From Zedelghem,” deals directly with the oppression of the weak by the strong. At times this seems melodramatic, as in “Half-Lives,” which depicts a giant corporation resorting to multiple murders in order to preserve its profits. Yet there can be no doubt that the author takes his theme seriously, even when he seems to be gently mocking genre fiction.
Mitchell’s two futuristic stories will not seem terribly original to readers familiar with science fiction. “An Orision of Sonmi-451″ deals with enslaved artificial humans (called “fabricants” here, with unmistakable echoes of the “replicants” found in Blade Runner, the film adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.) The plot of this section of the book would also seem to owe something to Soylent Green, the film version of Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison. The language used in this novella is only slightly different from modern English. All words starting with “ex” have lost the first letter, resulting in words like “xit” and “xactly.” This attempt at futuristic spelling may strike many readers as artificial and unconvincing.
“Sloosha’s Crossin’ an’ Ev’rythin’ After,” as its title implies, is told in a slurred future dialect with a few unfamiliar terms. An infant is a “babbit” and a knife is a “spiker.” This is similar to the dialect used in Russell Hoban’s novel Riddley Walker, also set in the far future after technological civilization has fallen. This section of the book is the most difficult to read, which may diminish the emotional effect it has on the reader.
Despite a slight lack of originality in some of its sections, and the fact that the author’s attempts at future language are not entirely successful, this is a good book, with vivid characters and fine descriptions, told in a variety of styles and moods. Almost every reader will find some sections less to her taste than others, but the overall effect is compelling.
9th July 2013 09:32 PM
Victoria Silverwolf
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004)
Authors who are considered to be part of the literary mainstream have often produced works which are clearly science fiction. Well known examples include Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (winner of the first Arthur C. Clarke Award) and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (nominated for the Clarke Award as well as the mainstream Man Booker Prize.) Both of these novels have also been adapted into feature films. To this distinguished list we can add David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas — or at least one third of it.
Cloud Atlas is really six short novels in one. “The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing” is a historical adventure set in the South Seas in the 1850′s. “Letters From Zedelghem” is a social drama set in Belgium in the 1930′s. “Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery” is a violent thriller set in California in the 1970′s. “The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish” is a black comedy set in the United Kingdom in modern times. “An Orison of Sonmi-451″ is high-tech science fiction set in Korea in the near future. “Sloosha’s Crossin’ an’ Ev’rythin’ After” is post-apocalyptic science fiction set in Hawaii in the far future.
Five of the narratives are divided into two parts, with one half preceding the uninterrupted far future section and one half following it. The structure of the book thus resembles a mirror, or perhaps someone climbing a mountain and then descending the other side. The “chapters” appear in this order: 1850′s, 1930′s, 1970′s, modern, near future, far future, near future, modern, 1970′s, 1930′s, 1850′s.
Although the six novellas can be read independently, there are many connections among them. The young man to whom “Letters From Zedelghem” is addressed appears, decades later, as a major character in “Half-Lives.” The protagonist of “An Orison of Sonmi-451″ is worshipped as a goddess in the far future. There are hints, particularly a comet-shaped birthmark shared by various persons, that many of the characters in later sections are reincarnations of characters from previous sections.
Cloud Atlas is more than just a clever way for the author to show his ability to create six very different stories. Each of the novellas, with the possible exception of “Letters From Zedelghem,” deals directly with the oppression of the weak by the strong. At times this seems melodramatic, as in “Half-Lives,” which depicts a giant corporation resorting to multiple murders in order to preserve its profits. Yet there can be no doubt that the author takes his theme seriously, even when he seems to be gently mocking genre fiction.
Mitchell’s two futuristic stories will not seem terribly original to readers familiar with science fiction. “An Orision of Sonmi-451″ deals with enslaved artificial humans (called “fabricants” here, with unmistakable echoes of the “replicants” found in Blade Runner, the film adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.) The plot of this section of the book would also seem to owe something to Soylent Green, the film version of Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison. The language used in this novella is only slightly different from modern English. All words starting with “ex” have lost the first letter, resulting in words like “xit” and “xactly.” This attempt at futuristic spelling may strike many readers as artificial and unconvincing.
“Sloosha’s Crossin’ an’ Ev’rythin’ After,” as its title implies, is told in a slurred future dialect with a few unfamiliar terms. An infant is a “babbit” and a knife is a “spiker.” This is similar to the dialect used in Russell Hoban’s novel Riddley Walker, also set in the far future after technological civilization has fallen. This section of the book is the most difficult to read, which may diminish the emotional effect it has on the reader.
Despite a slight lack of originality in some of its sections, and the fact that the author’s attempts at future language are not entirely successful, this is a good book, with vivid characters and fine descriptions, told in a variety of styles and moods. Almost every reader will find some sections less to her taste than others, but the overall effect is compelling.
