<p>Our next Book Club selection is Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.</p>
<p>From Publishers Weekly: At once audacious, dazzling, pretentious and infuriating, Mitchell’s third novel weaves history, science, suspense, humor and pathos through six separate but loosely related narratives. Like Mitchell’s previous works, Ghostwritten and *number9dream<a href=“which%20was%20shortlisted%20for%20the%20Booker%20Prize”>/i</a>, this latest foray relies on a kaleidoscopic plot structure that showcases the author’s stylistic virtuosity. Each of the narratives is set in a different time and place, each is written in a different prose style, each is broken off mid-action and brought to conclusion in the second half of the book . readers who enjoy the novel as puzzle will find much to savor in this original and occasionally very entertaining work.</p>
<p>As an added bonus, you can look forward to watching the film version starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Susan Sarandon (among others), to be released on October 26th.</p>
<p>(If you want to read about or buy this book on Amazon, be careful. As of this writing, they have thoroughly mixed up Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell with The Cloud Atlas by Liam Callanan. For example, on the Amazon page for the paperback version of David Mitchells book, the More About the Author link takes you to Liam Callanan. On the page for the Kindle version of Mitchells book, the first Editorial Review is about Callanans book. And if you do a general search for Cloud Atlas on Amazon, the first link is a picture of Mitchells bookwith by Liam Callanan next to it!)</p>
<p>Discussion for Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell begins October 1st. Please join us!</p>
<p>Make sure you give yourself ample time to read and savor “Cloud Atlas.” It’s 509 pages.</p>
<p>By the time you get into the first Luisa Rey section (p. 90), you’re likely to be seized by the momentum of the book and will start having trouble putting it down. </p>
<p>Some people do find the very first section of the book (pp 3-39) a little slow, but be patient and you’ll be rewarded!</p>
<p>I still do my book reading non-electronically, but I found a link for Cloud Atlas that says:</p>
<p>“Requirements:This book requires iBooks 1.3.1 or later and iOS 4.3.3 or later. Books can only be viewed using iBooks on an iPad, iPhone (3G or later), or iPod touch (2nd generation or later).”</p>
<p>I guess I need to get started soon … maybe when I finish the book I’m reading. I planned to read another book before starting Cloud Atlas but doubt I could finish both. I have limited reading time lately. Hope to join in the discussion on Oct. 1 (and perhaps see the movie Oct. 26 or so).</p>
<p>I’ve lurked on your book club threads and am impressed by your discussions. CA is a book that astounded me and one of those that I shove into peoples’ hands yelling “You must read this!” til they back away. I’ve read it twice. One of my friends who loved it read it again, but read each “book” together instead of the original fragmented manner and said that was interesting, too. </p>
<p>I look forward to your discussion. And I am so very afraid the movie will ruin one of my favorite books.</p>
<p>^ ditto
Have been shoving the book at people, as well. And am very concerned that the movie will ruin it for me. I think I am going to avoid any mention of the movie.</p>
<p>Reading it now- second chapter so much more enjoyable than first, The two last posts have me intriqued - sent your comments to book loving friends!!!</p>
<p>One of the reasons I urged the book club to read Cloud Atlas (apart from the fact that I am a person who recommends it to everybody!) is that I do want to see the movie (mostly for Ben Whishaw as Frobisher) but I knew I absolutely had to reread the book before I did so.</p>
<p>I hate it when I see a movie made from a book whose details I’ve forgotten so that everything gets all muddled…“was that something they changed, or am I forgetting?”</p>
<p>Ignatius, I hope you won’t delay too long!! Cloud Atlas takes some time to read because it is full of such riches and is so thought-provoking. It is also rather long. You always contribute so much to our discussions. I really hope you will be on board on October 1. If not…well, I somewhat suspect we are going to have a record number of participants in the discussion this time around and perhaps they will take up the slack.</p>
<p>Some sections are real page turners. I’m on schedule despite the busy schedule. Avoiding even seeing the trailer for the movie until I’ve finished the book.</p>
<p>theatermom- just looked at your link to the read along and it looks amazing. Love the additional pictures and maps included in the first chapter.</p>
<p>Just looked at Ignatius’ link about the film festival, and the plot description hints that the movie changes something major about one of the characters Halle Berry plays. :(</p>