This
is my first read (listen) by author David Mitchell, best known for Cloud
Atlas. The only downside I can see in the Audible form is the difficulty
of going over chapters and passages again at your leisure. It might be nice to
have the written form for that purpose.
I
have to say this novel was completely captivating. It was challenging, not only
in its format but also in its philosophy. I’m not sure if its message is
Mitchell’s or simply a brilliant fantasy premise, which speaks to the skill of
his writing.
The
novel is broken into six interwoven sections running from 1984 to 2043. There
are five, first-person point-of-view narrators. The one thread which connects
them all is the character of Holly Sykes. We meet Holly at a naive, rebellious
fifteen, trying to navigate a betrayal. The second character, Hugo Lamb we meet
as a shallow, unethical university student. The third, Ed Brubeck, is a war
correspondent trying to balance family and his love of his work. The fourth is
Crispin Hershey, a famous writer, bitter and past his popular prime. The fifth
is Marinus, an ancient being whose multiple lives span centuries. The sixth and
last section brings us back to Holly at age seventy-four trying to make sense
of a very different world.
This
masterfully plotted fantasy is unlike anything I have read before. I give it
high marks. I’m a new Mitchell fan.
Highly
recommend.
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