LiteratureBook · 2004
Cloud Atlas
David Mitchell
A sequence of nested stories runs from a Pacific sea voyage in the age of sail out to a Hawaii long past collapse and then back again, each one broken off midway and picked up on the return journey. Mitchell writes every section in a different voice and register, and the thread running through all of them is how reliably the strong consume the weak.
Why you should read this
Structured as six nested narratives spanning different centuries and genres, from historical voyage narrative to dystopian science fiction, each interrupted mid-scene and resumed later in reverse order. Best for readers who enjoy formal architecture and genre-hopping over a single sustained story.
- Field
- Literature
- Form
- Fiction
- Published
- 2004
- Themes
- ContemporaryLiterature
