This is not only my first Cannonball Read book review, it is also my first-ever book review of any kind. I’m kinda nervous. I don’t even know what to do or say, so I’ll say this: I liked it. I didn’t love it, though I wanted to love it. It took me several tries to get past the first twenty-or-so pages of this book, and only just now, on the advice of a friend whose book opinions I value, I finished.
I think this is a little obvious, but I was nonetheless impressed by David Mitchell’s ability to write quite convincingly in so many voices, aaaannndd…that may have added to my impatience? ADD issues? I’m not sure, but I found 30 minutes was about the limit per reading session. Since I usually shy away from so-called “genre” fiction (which is sadly too-often attempted through lame dialect attempts), maybe this Different Voices approach was off-putting. I don’t know; it didn’t feel that way at the time.
While I liked the Luisa Rey sections most, all of the main characters were actually quite compelling. I would have liked to see that birthmark thing developed a little more. Maybe I’m too dense to get it.
It’s review #1, which is what I typed, not review #-37. Just saying.
You can probably edit that, and do give your review a title, even if it’s just the title of the book. But more importantly WELCOME TO THE CANNONBALL!!!! Cloud Atlas is a great book, but a challenging one. Brave start.
Thank you! Fixed.
Nice title.
You can fix it by editing the post. That review number does love to scroll. I’m with you on this book. I liked it a lot. Didn’t love it, but it was interesting, different and weird. Maybe it’s my equally ADD brain, but it took me a few starts to get into it, and even then, I couldn’t read big chunks of it at a time.
Thank you! Fixed.
Welcome, chatelaine! Glad you are finding your way. The only thing review-wise I would suggest is going back to edit the post (yes again) and select the star rating you think this should have. http://cbr.bgwdesigns.com/faq/#star It’s not required, though.
Looking forward to more of your reviews!
I loved Cloud Atlas, but I agree it’s probably better in smaller increments. I was quite annoyed every time he started a new story, because I wanted to finish the one I was reading, but generally it’s high on my list of favourites.
Welcome to a fellow new reviewer! I agree with you, the book felt quite disjointed, and I found it hard to get into it. I had blamed it on the jumpy structure – every time I was getting into a section, it would switch.
Hope you have better luck with your next one!
Welcome to your first ever review – don’t worry it gets easier the more you get under your belt.
I’ve always felt that cloud Atlas was one of those must-read books, but I’ve never really gotten into it. Maybe I should give it another try and stop being such a control freak ;)
I read this for CBR6 and quite enjoyed it. I also finally got around to watching the movie last night. It’s a pretty good adaptation, even though it presents the stories in a different way.