If you loved Cloud Atlas...

[maillotjaune]

...would you recommend any of David Mitchell's other books?

Finished Cloud Atlas last night and very unusually I feel like going back to the beginning and reading it all over again. I won't yet as I have a kindle full of stuff to be read.

I am vaguely aware of fairly strong opinions about Mitchell, good and bad, on MN but wondered what you might recommend.

[PacificDogwood]

I also loved 'The Thousand Atums of Jacob de @ and 'Ghost Written' - v v different from 'Cloud Atlas' which I will also have to reread, but brilliant. I like his books. There was bad stuff about them?? Gosh.

[PacificDogwood]

autumns - too early in the morning

[mamabanana]

I enjoyed The Jacob de Zoet novel, but also really liked ghostwritten!

[Jux]

I loved The Tousand Autmns too, and am currently reading Black Swan Green, which I think is fab too.

Have you read Cogito's analysis of Cloud Atlas? It's here somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.

(I think that Cloud Stlas can be read twice back to back, though. One of the very few.)

[ZenNudist]

Black swan green is great.

[Jux]

I wasn't Cogito, I misremembered the name. it was Cote (massive apologies Cote!)

Anyway the thread is here. I printed off Cote's posts and reread, making notes all the way along, and then felt very embarrassed as I still had nothing to add to her discussion!

[maillotjaune]

Thanks Jux, I saw Cote mention that on another thread but I'm mostly on here on the phone so it's hard to find old stuff.

Pacific- yes I'm sure I've seen people say some of his stuff is unreadable which is what prompted me to read it so I'm very grateful to them

Thanks for the recommendations.

[GreeenFingers]

Just taken 11 bags of books to charity shop. Cloud Atlas being amongst the 100+ books I sent. I can't remeber reading it, oh well the cat's protection league will no doubt benefit.

[maillotjaune]

Have now read Cote's analysis (thank you Cote ) which was fantastic and really interesting as I'd been thinking along those lines as I was reading the book, but without Cote's ability to articulate my thoughts.

I'm still feeling blown away by Cloud Atlas and don't feel like reading anything else straight away. I might have a look at Farenheit 451 though - was that made into a film, I know the name but I'm pretty sure I haven't read it even in my dim and distant teens?

[dotty2]

I've liked all of his, but especially The Thousand Autumns. I thought Cloud Atlas was a little bit ostentatiously clever. They are all very different, though.

[Hullygully]

I wasn't nearly as impressed by Thousand Autumns, it felt contrived.

Like Ghostwritten, Black Swan Green

[KeithLeMonde]

I liked Ghostwritten though I felt that and Cloud Atlas were rather samey.

[Jux]

HullyGully, I think I know what you mean, but I found all that history of Japan so interesting, I couldn't put it down. I like his prose too, so it was a joy to read despite the contrivance of plot.

[PacificDogwood]

The cleverness of Cloud Atlas intimidated me a fair bit. Until I though 'Imagine having to live with that kind of a mind? All the time?'
Then I felt better .

Must get Black Swan Green

[CoteDAzur]

You are all very welcome. It was my pleasure (literally)

Re what to read next: What I read after Cloud Atlas was another great book called This Thing Of Darkness that coincidentally carried on some of CA's themes. It is the true story of Charles Darwin's voyage aboard the survey brig Beagle for two years, charting then-unknown South American territories, visiting Australia, etc. I heartily recommend it.

I'd really love to have your thoughts on Cloud Atlas before I read it again, so do please post on that thread soon

[CoteDAzur]

Re "cleverness of Cloud Atlas" - If any of you are interested in reading some more clever speculative fiction, try Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" and "Diamond Age".

[XiCi]

I loved ghostwritten. Preferred it to cloud atlas.

[Jux]

I have This Thing of Darkness in my pile of What to Read Next!

DD has, however, asked me to read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. They have a 'special reading group' led by the HT at school, and this is the current book. I'm finding it a bit hard going, tbh.

Then I can go back to Black Swan Green, which I had to leave half way through (the sacrifices one makes for one's kids!).

[maillotjaune]

Well I have read Fahrenheit 451 and The Handmaid's Tale since finishing Cloud Atlas and am feeling very gloomy. Had been thinking of revisiting 1984 having found my old copy in pieces after tidying some shelves last week but I think I need to find something a bit lighter first.

[CoteDAzur]

1984 is highly unlikely to lift the dark clouds of gloom

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I'm currently enjoying 'Black Swan Green' though at risk of winding up Cote, I have still failed to finish 'Cloud Atlas' which I find a bit show-offy and irritating.

'This Thing Of Darkness' is amazing and I envy anybody yet to read it.

Another one I like to red on threads such as this is, 'A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius' which I have read twice and thoroughly enjoyed both times.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

rec not red

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Oh and I've just read 'The Martian Chronicles' by Ray Bradbury. An easy read and the first third or so isn't great but then I really rather enjoyed it. A bit depressing though!

[CoteDAzur]

I'm just looking forward to the day when you will actually read it and I'll get to say "I told you so"