Cloud Atlas

CLOUD ATLAS
by David Mitchell

 Nominations: Booker Finalist 2004, Dublin Longlist 2006, James Tait Black Finalist 2004, National Book Critics Circle Finalist 2004

 Date Read: October 13, 2019

 Cloud Atlas is an interesting attempt at displaying the various aspects of human nature. As each story progresses, we see the same soul progressing through different lives and how the circumstances of those lives shape the soul's response. From Adam Ewing the explorer, to Robert Frobisher the ne'er-do-well composer, to Luisa Rey the ambitious news reporter, to Timothy Cavendish the entrapped publisher, to Sonmi the enslaved fabricant, and finally, to Zachary the post-apocalyptic villager of Hawaii.

 Each of these characters wrestle with the truth of their times and the striving for justice in impossible circumstances. Mitchell has claimed that all but one of these characters has been reincarnated as the same soul. If I had to argue which would have been omitted, I would have to say Robert Frobisher. His life of idle pursuit and satisfying his own selfish desires omits him from the theme of struggle and pursuit of justice the other characters share.

 I agree wholeheartedly in Mitchell's overarching thesis that a predatory world based on selfishness, will indeed consume itself. While one could argue that's happening in spades in the present, I cannot help but hold out hope that humanity can transcend our current circumstances and those of us with enough awareness and desire for justice can shape a just world. 

 All in all, I am glad that I read this novel, having been put off by it's separate narratives. Knowing how much I loathe short stories, I had resisted this for years but I am truly glad I took the plunge. 

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