What do you think of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas?

I just checked it out of the library, a few weeks after reading Ghostwritten and Black Swan Green.

I wish they would stop making films of popular books.

I haven't read this yet (carefully skimming the thread) but enjoying Ghostwritten. Pretty sure Tom Tykwer has never actually made a good film.

Just finished cloud atlas about an hour ago, <3ed it, and I'm stoked they're making a movie because the same thought occurred to me several times while reading it. tbh they could film the orison of somni and zach'ry sections alone and I'd be a happy camper.

'Cloud Atlas' was the first book I read of David Mitchell and it was a tough read. I was impressed and read all the others after, just finished 'The Thousand Autumns...'. The thing with 'Cloud Atlas' was that I didn't know what to expect, with the others it was different. It was also the only DM book I did not read in English but in its Dutch translation. Now, I try to read books in the language in which they are written. For some reason 'Cloud Atlas's compositional structure was a bit too much for its own good, I thought 'Ghostwritten' was a better idea. The part with the dj show was ace, a nice variation on the last chapter of Ulysses (Ali Smith did the same in one of her books, but this for me is a more funny variation, just a talk-sick dj ranting on and on like a real radio dj).

Even though I think 'The Thousand Autumn's...' story progresses slowly, there are so many things going on at the same time I could not stop reading. I'm already waiting for the next book.

I thought The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet was decent, but my least favorite of his. Maybe it's just not my type of book, but the first half was an uphill slog through 18th century medicine and trade agreements, and I didn't care for the main character. But, it definitely picks up speed and suspense towards the middle, and ends quite well.

To n/a's question way up thread, the answer is his hair color.

Paris Review interview. Long, not very exciting, but charmed to learn that in youth he wrote poetry under a pseudonym taken from the Stainless Steel Rat.

I never read any of those, despite them heavily populating the science-fiction section of my local library. Were they any good? (Bearing in mind that I would read anything, bad, good, dull - my critical markers weren't set too high).

I loved them when I was eleven. May have been my favourite books.

Is the Paris Review available anywhere in London, does anyone know? Would like to get the current issue for the Norman Rush interview, but ordering a single issue from their site is absurdly expensive...

My abiding memory of the Stainless Steel Rat (wasn't aware there were novels!)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/35/Stainless_steel_rat_prog171_carlos_ezquerra.jpg/250px-Stainless_steel_rat_prog171_carlos_ezquerra.jpg

I was aware of the books, but I never read them, preferring to read about Jim diGriz's exploits in the pages of 2000AD (^^^that prog's cover takes me back!).

they were better than 'bill, the galactic hero'

read a lot of shit from 11-15, i did

I began Number9Dream. n/a, any advice?

ha ha - what do you need advice on? anything in particular?

(note: I read Number9Dream like five years ago and have a terrible memory so I am not going to be able to offer anything useful on it)

oh at the top I say I like Number9Dream more than Cloud Atlas? that's weird, I don't know why I said that. But referring back, I do see my five year estimate was accurate! So good for me!

My current ranking:
Ghostwritten
Cloud Atlas
Black Swan Green
Number9Dream
Jacob de Zoet

but I like all of them

Paris Review is available at the LRB shop.

I was blown away by #9dream - maybe even more than I was by all other Mitchell except BSG and (haven't read) the Thousand Autumns.

Have you read any Murakami, Pinefox?

I'd currently rank them:

Ghostwritten
Cloud Atlas
Black Swan Green
Jacob De Zoet
Number9Dream

Number9Dream never really gelled for me but it certainly had its moments.

I like Number9Dream best, though the center section of Cloud Atlas is probably my favorite thing he's written.

Number9Dream
Cloud Atlas

Ghostwritten
Jacob de Zoet
Black Swan Green

oh at the top I say I like Number9Dream more than Cloud Atlas?

Yeah, so far I think I agree.

I need to reread all of these, but I'm not much of a rereader.

i thought black swan green was great, though a little bit "neat" in the way it ended. but as far as that coming-of-age type of story goes, it was at the top of the genre.

yup.

i guess i would put cloud atlas/ghostwritten/black swan green above jacob de zoet too, but that makes it look like it's not good, and it is. really enjoyed it.

Nice lil piece abt what a Kate bush fan he is - http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/01/kate-bush-hero-david-mitchell

to answer question above: only read Murakami short stories. found them deeply unconvincing, or deeply shallow, or frustrating, or nugatory, or immature. wonder how far it's a translation problem and he is a much better writer really; was quite bamboozled by how mediocre he seemed in English sentences.

hence, while not doubting that #9dream must derive in part from DM's admiration of Murakami, am pretty certain that as a piece of writing in English #9dream is a million times better than, at least, the limited amount of M. that I have read in English.

I'm not a fan of Murakami at all, at all, but the charm of his writing-- and the thing that Mitchell emulates in number9dream-- at least, in my estimation-- is that episodic, non-sequitur quality that you find in classical Japanese literature. And, I'm told, Chinese lit too, but I haven't read any of that.

Mitchell takes the same idea, and has Eiji's adventure transpire like a stream-of-consciousness. The first time I read it, when the Yakuza section suddenly happened, it felt very much like Murakami, not to mention that Goatwriter chapter.

On another note, I reread De Zoet over Christmas and it's far and away my favourite of his. I was asked to interview him for a magazine, and started making inquiries, but later realized the editor was talking about this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Mitchell_(actor)

sadly, in their home country this guy is a lot more famous

No disrespect to this guy intended.

On another note, I reread De Zoet over Christmas and it's far and away my favourite of his. I was asked to interview him for a magazine, and started making inquiries, but later realized the editor was talking about this [other] guy

that sux cuz he was by a decent margin the most interested and enjoyable of the handful of authors ive ever interviewed

ive thought about giving de zoet another shot because it took a second reading for me to really 'get' black swan green but i cant muster up the energy.

I like "...De Zoet" even more after letting it sink in and talking about it with my friends as they've read it.

apparently tom hanks is going to star in an adaptation co-written and co-directed by the wachowskis and tom tykwer of run lola run?

produced by ... michael bay?

i always thought it should be a 12-episode HBO miniseries broadcast in the same order as the book, w/ different directors for each segment doing 2 episodes each

unfortunately i am not in charge

your idea is better!

Much better, although conversely I don't think there's so much spilling out of Cloud Atlas that it couldn't be served well by a film adaptation. Hopefully they restrict Hanks to just one section rather than having him play several characters.

Luisa Rey section aside, the BBC might make a better fist of a Cloud Atlas series than HBO. Can't quite see an HBO-ised Timothy Cavendish story somehow.

It would be OK if Hanks just played the old gay bloke that Luisa Rey meets on a balcony

definitely, matt, HBO was just a placeholder

i think the most middle section of the book could be awesome – if it were done all dreamy and super-futuristic like

It would be OK if Hanks just played the old gay bloke that Luisa Rey meets on a balcony

Apparently playing Dr. Henry Goose: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371111/

About one hundred pages into Jacob de Zoet, which I am so far enjoying more than his other books.

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2011/news/111121/hugh-grant-300.jpg

hugh grant in makeup on set

i always thought it should be a 12-episode HBO miniseries broadcast in the same order as the book, w/ different directors for each segment doing 2 episodes each

― ban drake (the rapper) (max), Tuesday, April 12, 2011 10:03 PM (7 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

This is a great idea and would prob be better than the book which for all its effort never really shook the milquetoast Englishman tone

What an insult to Calvino frankly

J/k it was p good

nice try

Do u love this book max, cause I only like it it, its a bit stilted or something

yeah i do. i dont get 'stilted' at all from it--some parts dont succeed as well as others for sure. i think ghostwritten is better probably. (the others are all good too but not as easy to compare.) this guy is like my favorite working author though!

Ghostwritten is still my favorite, although a large chunk of the new one was beautiful.

It's a great book and I agree with Max (and suspect Alfred is correct about excellence of new book also) -- as living authors go, DM is brilliant and admirable and I like to celebrate him.

as I have said before I even thought no9dream, which no one here liked, was often staggeringly brilliant

I really liked Cloud Atlas, but I found Jacob de Zoet problematic. I seem to remember feeling it toiled somewhat. Pretty sure I wrote something on ILB, hang on.