Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: Spent much of the book having absolutely no idea what’s going on. But that’s okay. Basically it’s a series of interconnected stories that go through the diary of an American man in Australia in the 1850s, a British musician in the 1930s, a mystery-solving American journalist in the 1970s, an elderly British publisher in the present day, a clone on trial in nearish-future Korea, a goat herder in post-apocalyptic Hawaii, and back again. I’d hoped there would be a little more connection between the stories – more on the comet-shaped birthmark, for example – but that was not to be. It also got a little preachy in places. My favorite was probably the elderly British publisher who gets committed to an old folks’ home against his will. All in all it’s a decent read, but far too long for the amount of interest it held for me. Which sounds about like how I felt about the other Mitchell book I’ve read, Ghostwritten: great characters, probably could use a reread, but if you prefer less convoluted tales, you might want to skip this one.

Also posted on BookCrossing.