Cloud Atlas

I began losing interest about halfway through, because this book has an interesting but simple premise. Six overlapping narratives, each being cut off by the next, tell the story of a single soul throughout its many lives. I was about to give up on it because of the extra effort the book required of me to translate the entirely original language of Sloosha's Crossing, but towards the end something wonderful happens. As each story ends, the characters join us on the readers' side of the fourth wall and engage the previous narrative, resulting in an avalanche of ideas thrusting us back into the past in the most natural way possible. The thought behind this book is amazing, and many of the ideas hinted at in Mitchell's previous works are made (perhaps too) obvious here. Each narrative's big idea seems to fit perfectly inside the next one, so the seemingly schlocky structure works ridiculously well. This novel is a catapult cranked back to the past, ready to shoot you to the future, and the best part is the trip back. I highly recommend it.