Cloud Atlas

Whoops! Another book/reader mismatch, unfortunately. As I have no doubt this work has fervent champions, I think I'm safer saying this is a mismatch rather than trying to argue it is a poorly constructed work, but I'll do my best in the few remaining moments I feel like devoting to discussing this book. 🤷🏼‍♂️
I was strongly reminded of my experience reading Klara and the Sun. David Mitchell and Kazuo Ishiguro appear to share the same ability to write beautifully but not in a way that transmutes perceivably calculated emotional manipulation into the natural form of becoming invested in the characters and therefore being impacted by their suffering. And suffering is the name of the game! Alas, the profound tidbits I believe Mitchell wanted me to come away with were subsumed in sheer volume of misery he seems to think was necessary to convey meaning, even as it marred the majesty of the prose. I appreciated the different times/worlds his imagination built, and the few characters who managed better endings. I don't have much stake in the idea of reincarnation, so the birthmark through line and the various somewhat arbitrary connections between stories didn't resonate for me.
I wish those who read it a better experience than I had. 

⚠️racism, antisemitism, colonialism, slavery, genocide, suicide, animal death