Now a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, and Hugh Grant, and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer
A postmodern visionary who is also a master of styles of genres, David Mitchell combines flat-out adventure, a Nabokovian lore of puzzles, a keen eye for character, and a taste for mind-bending philosophical and scientific speculation in the tradition of Umberto Eco and Philip K. Dick. The result is brilliantly original fiction that reveals how disparate people connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky.
“[David] Mitchell is, clearly, a genius. He writes as though at the helm of some perpetual dream machine, can evidently do anything, and his ambition is written in magma across this novel’s every page.”—The New York Times Book Review
“One of those how-the-holy-hell-did-he-do-it? modern classics that no doubt is—and should be—read …
Now a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, and Hugh Grant, and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer
A postmodern visionary who is also a master of styles of genres, David Mitchell combines flat-out adventure, a Nabokovian lore of puzzles, a keen eye for character, and a taste for mind-bending philosophical and scientific speculation in the tradition of Umberto Eco and Philip K. Dick. The result is brilliantly original fiction that reveals how disparate people connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky.
“[David] Mitchell is, clearly, a genius. He writes as though at the helm of some perpetual dream machine, can evidently do anything, and his ambition is written in magma across this novel’s every page.”—The New York Times Book Review
“One of those how-the-holy-hell-did-he-do-it? modern classics that no doubt is—and should be—read by any student of contemporary literature.”—Dave Eggers
“Wildly entertaining . . . a head rush, both action-packed and chillingly ruminative.”—People
“The novel as series of nested dolls or Chinese boxes, a puzzle-book, and yet—not just dazzling, amusing, or clever but heartbreaking and passionate, too. I’ve never read anything quite like it, and I’m grateful to have lived, for a while, in all its many worlds.”—Michael Chabon
I liked following the different stories and bouncing back and forth between them. I'm not totally sure what the thread that wove them all together was, but the individual stories kept me reading and the book as a whole was fun to read. Having seen the movie before reading the books, I had already formulated pictures of what all the characters looked like, which was probably helpful since there were many to keep track of.
The travel journal, the lover's letters, the thriller, the comedy, the sci-fi, and the after-collapse; six novellas in as many different genres and voices. A historic and dystopic vision of human nature, reminding us how it doesn't matter the century or the level of civilisation - humanity has always been about the strong crushing the weak. And yet, with some extraordinary human treats, how it is possible for the weak to succeed, even if posthumously, and with the help of sometimes a whole community.
There are a few gems for learning for those involved in struggles against the powerful nowadays.
Unlike other books ... this book is excellent and every one should read it.
Extremely interesting novel, which is surprisingly easy to read. The narrative structure appears complicated, as it is a sort of temporal palindrome (first chapter in same narrative threas as last, second chapter in same thread as penultimate chapter etc.), but it actually seems to make sense when you get stuck into it. Style-wise, it rather defies comparison. Shades of Atwood (the Somni chapters), O'Brian (the Ewing 19th Century nautical scenes) and even Tom Sharpe (the hapless Cavendish farce).
Maybe the structure is a sort of Ziggurat, with the same implications of rise and fall of both individuals and civilisations, and the aroma of human sacrifice in order to satisfy power.
But don't let that put you off. It really is a great read.
like the nesting russian dolls, each chaper of this book is separate but linked to the whole. i've never read such a creative piece - using different countries and time periods (even turning futuristic/sci-fi-sh at times) and using different writing styles that would be compatible to the time period - this author manages to pull all these stand-alone stories into a cohesive narrative. his recurring themes are the constant braying that society as we know it will be extinct within this century (whether it's the 18th or the 22nd), the repeated act of enslaving another nation/race, and the contradictory nature of our beliefs to our actions: the belief that we are powerless to change the future while we behave like our actions really can yield a change...
my favorite part(s) was how we got to revisit the chapters (which ended - each - with a great sense of doom) to …
like the nesting russian dolls, each chaper of this book is separate but linked to the whole. i've never read such a creative piece - using different countries and time periods (even turning futuristic/sci-fi-sh at times) and using different writing styles that would be compatible to the time period - this author manages to pull all these stand-alone stories into a cohesive narrative. his recurring themes are the constant braying that society as we know it will be extinct within this century (whether it's the 18th or the 22nd), the repeated act of enslaving another nation/race, and the contradictory nature of our beliefs to our actions: the belief that we are powerless to change the future while we behave like our actions really can yield a change...
my favorite part(s) was how we got to revisit the chapters (which ended - each - with a great sense of doom) to have each of them come to a satisfying conclusion.
