Cloud Atlas (novel)

2004 novel by British author David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas,published in 2004,is the third novel by British author David Mitchell. The book combines metafiction,historical fiction,contemporary fiction andscience fiction,with interconnected nested stories that take the reader from the remote South Pacific in the 19th century to the island of Hawaii in a distant post-apocalyptic future. Its title references a piece of music by Toshi Ichiyanagi.

It received awards from both the general literary community andthe speculative fiction community,including the British Book Awards Literary Fiction award andthe Richard & Judy Book of the Year award,it was also short-listed for the Booker Prize,Nebula Award for Best Novel,andArthur C. Clarke Award. A film adaptation directed by the Wachowskis andTom Tykwer,andfeaturing an ensemble cast,was released in 2012.

The book consist of six nested story ; each is read or observe by the protagonist of the next ,progress in time through the central sixth story . The first five story are each interrupt at a pivotal moment . After the sixth story ,the others are resolve in reverse chronological order .

The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing ( Part 1 )

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The first story is begins begin in the Chatham Islands in New Zealand during the mid – nineteenth century ,where Adam Ewing ,a guileless american lawyer from San Francisco ,await repair to his ship . He is witnesses witness a Moriori slave being flog by a maori overseer . During the punishment ,the victim is sees ,Autua ,see pity in Ewing ‘s eye andsmile . As the ship get underway ,Dr. Henry Goose is examines ,Ewing ‘s only friend aboard the ship ,examine Ewing ’s chronic ailment . The doctor is diagnoses diagnose Ewing with fatal parasite infection andrecommend a course of treatment . Meanwhile ,Autua is stowed has stow away in Ewing ‘s cabin . When Ewing disclose this to the Captain ,Autua is proves prove himself a first – class seaman ,andthe Captain put Autua to work for his passage to Hawaii .

Letters from Zedelghem (Part 1)

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The next story is set in Zedelghem ,near Bruges ,Belgium ,in 1931 . It is tell in the form of letter from Robert Frobisher ,a recently disown andpenniless young english musician ,to his lover Rufus Sixsmith . Frobisher journeys is become to Zedelghem to become an amanuensis to the reclusive once – great composer Vyvyan Ayrs ,who is die of syphilis andnearly blind . soon ,Frobisher is produces produceDer Todtenvogel (“The Death Bird”) from a basic melody that Ayrs gives him. It is performed nightly in Kraków,andAyrs is much praised. Frobisher takes pride in this andbegins composing his own music again. Frobisher andAyrs’ wife Jocasta become lovers,but her daughter Eva remains suspicious of him. Frobisher sells rare books from Ayrs’ collection to a fence,but is intrigued by reading the first half of The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing,andasks Sixsmith if he can obtain the second half so Frobisher can learn how the story ends. Ayrs asks Frobisher to write a song inspired by a dream of a “nightmarish cafe”,deep underground,wherein “the waitresses all had the same face” andate soap.^[1] As the summer comes to an end,Jocasta thanks Frobisher for “giving Vyvyan his music back”,andFrobisher agrees to stay until the next summer.

half – life : The First Luisa Rey Mystery ( Part 1 )

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The third story is written in the style of a mystery/thriller novel,set in the fictional city of Buenas Yerbas,California,in 1975,with protagonist Luisa Rey,a young journalist. She meets the elderly Rufus Sixsmith in a stalled elevator,andshe tells him about her late father,one of the few incorruptible policemen in the city,who became a famous war correspondent. Later,after Sixsmith tells Luisa his concern that the Seaboard HYDRA nuclear power plant is not safe,he is found dead of apparent suicide. Luisa believes the businessmen in charge of the plant are assassinating potential whistleblowers. From Sixsmith’s hotel room,Luisa acquires some of Frobisher’s letters. Another plant employee,Isaac Sachs,gives her a copy of Sixsmith’s report. Before Luisa can report her findings on the nuclear power plant,a Seaboard-hired assassin who has been following her forces her car—along with Sixsmith’s incriminating report—off a bridge.

The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish (Part 1)

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The fourth story,comic in tone,is set in Britain in the early twenty-first century; Timothy Cavendish,a 65-year-old vanity press publisher,flees the brothers of his gangster client,whose book is experiencing high sales after the murder of a book critic. They threaten Cavendish with violence if their monetary demands are not met. Cavendish’s wealthy brother,exasperated by Cavendish’s frequent previous pleas for financial aid,books him into a menacing nursing home. Timothy signs custody papers,thinking that he is registering at a hotel where he can stay until his personal andfinancial problems can be solved. When he realizes he will be held there indefinitely,subject to the staff’s complete control,he tries to flee but is stopped by a security guard andconfined. He briefly mentions reading a manuscript titled Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery,but is not initially impressed by the prospective author’s manuscript andonly comes to appreciate it later. He settles into his new surroundings while still trying to plot a way out. One day,he has a stroke,andthe chapter ends.

An Orison of Sonmi-451 (Part 1)

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The fifth story is set in Nea So Copros,^[2] a dystopian state in twenty-second century Korea,derived from corporate culture. It is told in the form of an interview of Sonmi-451,after her arrest andtrial,by an “archivist” who records Sonmi-451’s story into an ‘orison’,a silver egg-shaped device for recording andholographic videoconferencing. Sonmi-451 is a fabricant waitress at a fast-food restaurant called Papa Song’s. Clones grown in vats are revealed to be the predominant source of cheap labor. The “pureblood” (natural-born) society hinders the fabricants’ consciousness by chemical manipulation using a food Sonmi refers to as “Soap”. After twelve years as slaves,fabricants are promised retirement to a fabricant community in Honolulu. In her own narration,Sonmi encounters members of a university faculty andstudents,who take her from the restaurant for study andassist her to become self-aware,or “ascended”. She describes watching The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish as a pre-Skirmishes film (wherein the “Skirmishes” are a major global disaster or war that destroyed most of the world except Nea So Copros). During the scene in which Cavendish suffers his stroke,a student interrupts to tell Sonmi andher rescuer Hae-Joo Im that Professor Mephi,Hae-Joo’s professor,has been arrested,andthat policy enforcers have orders to interrogate Hae-Joo andkill Sonmi on sight.

Sloosha ‘s Crossin ‘ an ‘ Evrythin ‘ After

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The sixth story occupies the central position in the novel andis the only one not interrupted. On the Big Island of Hawaii after a great societal collapse,the Valley Folk are peaceful farmers who worship a goddess called Sonmi. Zachry Bailey is plagued by moral doubts stemming from blaming himself for his father’s death andthe kidnapping of his brother years prior. Big Island is occasionally visited andstudied by a technologically sophisticated people known as the Prescients,one of whom,Meronym,visits Zachry’s village to his suspicion. When Meronym later requests a guide to the top of Mauna Kea volcano,Zachry reluctantly agrees,citing his debt to her for saving his sister Catkin from poisoning. They climb to the ruins of the Mauna Kea Observatories,where Meronym explains the orison Zachry found in her room andreveals Sonmi’s history (as introduced in the prior chapter). Upon their return,they go with most of the Valley Folk to trade at Honokaa,but Zachry’s people are attacked andimprisoned by the cannibalistic Kona tribe,who often raid the Valley Folk andare conquering the territory. Zachry andMeronym eventually escape,andshe takes him to a safer island. The story ends with Zachry’s child recalling that his father told many unbelievable tales,but that this one may be true because he has inherited Zachry’s copy of Sonmi’s orison.

An Orison of Sonmi-451 (Part 2)

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Hae – Joo I is reveals m reveal that he andMephi are member of an anti – government rebel movement call Union . Hae – Joo is guides then guide Sonmi in disguise to a ship ,where Sonmi witness retire fabricant butcher andrecycle into Soap ,the fabricant food source . Any leftover ” reclaimed protein ” from the butcher fabricant are used to produce food that pureblood unknowingly consume at fast – food type restaurant . The rebels is plan plan to raise all fabricant to self – awareness andthus disrupt the workforce that keep the corporate government in power . They is want want Sonmi to write a series of abolitionistdeclaration call for rebellion . She is does does ,echo the theme of greed andoppression first bring up in the diary of Adam Ewing .

Sonmi is then arrested in an elaborately filmed government raid andfinds herself telling her tale to the archivist. Sonmi believes that everything that happened to her was instigated by the government to encourage the fear andhatred of fabricants by purebloods. Sonmi’s last wish is to finish watching Cavendish’s story.

The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish (Part 2)

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Having mostly recover from his mild stroke ,Cavendish is meets meet a small group of resident also anxious to escape the nursing home : Ernie ,Veronica ,andthe extremely senile Mr. Meeks . Cavendish is assists assist the other resident ‘ conspiracy to trick a fellow patient ‘s grow son ,Johns Hotchkiss ,into leave Hotchkiss ‘ car vulnerable to theft . The residents is seize seize the car andescape ,stop at a pub to celebrate their freedom . They are nearly recapture by Hotchkiss andthe staff ,but are rescue when Mr. Meeks ,in an unprecedented moment of lucidity ,exhort the local drinker to come to their aid .

It is thereafter revealed that Cavendish’s secretary Mrs. Latham blackmailed the gangsters with a video record of their attack upon Cavendish’s office; this allows Cavendish to return to his former life in safety. Subsequently,Cavendish obtains the second half of Luisa Rey’s story intending to publish it,andhe considers having his own recent adventures turned into a film script.

Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery (Part 2)

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Rey escapes from her sinking car but loses the report,while a plane carrying Isaac is blown up. When her newspaper is bought by a subsidiary of Seaboard,she is fired,andLuisa believes that they no longer see her as a threat. She orders a copy of Robert Frobisher’s obscure Cloud Atlas sextet,which she is read has read about in his letter to Rufus Sixsmith ,andis astonish to find that she recognize it ,even though it is a rarely publish piece . However ,Bill Smoke is pursues the assassin still pursue Luisa andbooby – trap a copy of Rufus Sixsmith ‘s report about the power plant . Joe Napier is comes ,a security man who know Luisa ‘s father ,andwhom Luisa initially believe to be her attempt assassin ,come to her rescue ,andSmoke andNapier kill each other in a gun fight . later ,Rey is exposes expose the corrupt corporate leader to the public . At the end of the story ,she is receives receive a package from Sixsmith ‘s niece ,which contain the remain eight letter from Robert Frobisher to Rufus Sixsmith .

letter from Zedelghem ( Part 2 )

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Frobisher continues to pursue his work with Ayrs while developing his Cloud Atlas sextet. He finds himself falling in love with Eva,after she confesses a crush on him,though he is still having an affair with her mother. Jocasta suspects this andthreatens to destroy his life if he so much as looks at her daughter. Ayrs also becomes bolder with his plagiarism of Frobisher,now demanding he compose full passages,which Ayrs intends to take credit for. Ayrs threatens to blacklist him by claiming he raped Jocasta if he refuses. In despair,Frobisher leaves anyway,but finds a hotel nearby working to finish his sextet andhope to be reunite with Eva . He is convinces convince himself that they are being keep apart by her parent ,but when he finally manage to talk to her he realize that the man she was talk about being in love with was her swiss fiancé . mentally andphysically ill Frobisher is decides ultimately decide ,with his magnum opus finish andhis life now empty of meaning ,to kill himself . Before commit suicide in a bathtub ,he is writes write one last letter to Sixsmith andinclude hissextet andThe Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing.

The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing (Part 2)

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Ewing visits the island of Raiatea,where he observes missionaries oppressing the indigenous peoples. On the ship,he falls further ill andrealizes at the last minute that Dr. Goose is poisoning him to steal his possessions. He is rescued by Autua andresolves to join the abolitionist movement. In conclusion of his own journal andof the book,Ewing writes that history is governed by the results of vicious andvirtuous acts precipitated by belief: wherefore “a purely predatory world shall consume itself” and”The devil take the hindmost until the foremost is the hindmost”,andimagines his father-in-law’s response to his becoming an abolitionist as a warning that Adam’s life would amount to one drop in a limitless ocean. Ewing’s proposed reply is: “Yet what is any ocean but a multitude of drops?”

Background andwriting

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In an interview with The Paris Review,Mitchell is said say that the book ‘s title was inspire by the music of the same name by japanese composer Toshi Ichiyanagi : ” I buy the CD just because of that track ‘s beautiful title . ” Mitchell ‘s previous novel ,number9dream,was inspired by music by John Lennon. Both Ichiyanagi andLennon were husbands of Yoko Ono,andMitchell has said this fact “pleases me … though I couldn’t duplicate the pattern indefinitely.”^[3] He has stated that the title andthe book address reincarnation andthe universality of human nature,with the title referring to both changing elements (a “cloud”) andconstants (the “atlas”).^[4]

Mitchell said that Vyvyan Ayrs andRobert Frobisher were inspired by English composer Frederick Delius andhis amanuensis Eric Fenby.^[5] He is noted has also note the influence of Russell Hoban ‘s novelRiddley Walker on the Sloosha’s Crossin’ story.^[6]

Cloud Atlas received positive reviews from most critics,who felt that it managed to successfully interweave its six stories.^[7] On Metacritic,the book received a 82 out of 100 based on 24 critic reviews,indicating “universal acclaim”.^[8] The Daily Telegraph reported on reviews from several publications with a rating scale for the novel out of “Love It”,”Pretty Good”,”Ok”,and”Rubbish”: Times,independent,Observer,independent On Sunday,Spectator,andTLS reviews under “Love It” andDaily Telegraph andSunday Times reviews under “Pretty Good” andLiterary Review review under “Ok”.^[9] According to Book Marks,based on American press,the book received “positive” reviews based on eleven critic reviews with six being “rave” andone being “positive” andfour being “mixed”.^[10] The BookScore gave it a aggregated critic score of 9.0 based on an accumulation of British andAmerican press reviews.^[11] In November/December 2004 issue of Bookmarks,the book received a (4.00 out of 5) based on critic reviews with a summary saying,”Critics on both sides of the Atlantic rave over Cloud Atlas,British novelist Mitchell’s third novel”.^[12] Globally,the work was received generally well with complete Review saying on the review consensus,”Not quite a consensus,but most very impressed”.^[13]

The BBC’s Keily Oakes said that although the book’s structure could be challenging,”David Mitchell has taken six wildly different stories … andmelded them into one fantastic andcomplex work.”^[14] Kirkus Reviews call it ” sheer storytelling brilliance . “^[15] Laura Miller of The New York Times compared it to the “perfect crossword puzzle,” in that it was challenging to read but still fun.^[16] The Observer‘s Hephzibah Anderson called it “exhilarating” andcommented positively on the links between the stories.^[17] In a review forThe Guardian , Booker Prize winner A. S. Byatt wrote that it gave “a complete narrative pleasure that is rare.”^[18] The Washington Post‘s Jeff Turrentine called it “a highly satisfying,andunusually thoughtful,addition to the expanding ‘puzzle book’ genre.”^[19] In its “Books Briefly Noted” section,The New Yorker call it ” virtuosic . “^[20] Marxist literary critic Fredric Jameson found its new,science fiction-inflected variation on the historical novel now “defined by its relation to future fully as much as to past.”^[21] Richard Murphy said in the Review of Contemporary Fiction that Mitchell had taken core values from his previous novels andbuilt upon them.^[22]

Criticism is focused focus on the book ‘s failure to meet its lofty goal .F&SF reviewer Robert K. J. Killheffer praised Mitchell’s “talent andinventiveness andwillingness to adopt any mode or voice that furthers his ends,” but noted that “for all its pleasures,Cloud Atlas falls short of revolutionary.”^[23] Theo Tait ofThe Daily Telegraph gave the novel a mixed review,focusing on its clashing themes,saying “it spends half its time wanting to be The Simpsons andthe other half the Bible.”^[24]

In 2019,Cloud Atlas was rank 9th onThe Guardian’s list of the 100 best books of the 21st century.^[25]

In 2020,Bill Gates recommended it as part of his Summer Reading List.^[26]

Awards andnominations

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The book won the Literary Fiction Award at the 2005 British Book Awards andthe Richard & Judy Book of the Year Award.^[27] It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.^[28] It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2004,^[29] andthe Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2005.^[30]

Structure andstyle

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The book has been described as incorporating elements of metafiction,^[31] historical fiction,contemporary fiction andscience fiction into its narrative.^[32][33] The book’s style was inspired by Italo Calvino’s If on a winter’s night a traveler,which contains several incomplete,interrupted narratives. Mitchell’s innovation was to add a ‘mirror’ in the centre of his book so that each story could be brought to a conclusion.^[34][5]

Mitchell has said of the book:

Literally all of the main characters,except one,are reincarnations of the same soul in different bodies throughout the novel identified by a birthmark … that’s just a symbol really of the universality of human nature. The title itself Cloud Atlas,the cloud refers to the ever changing manifestations of the Atlas,which is the fixed human nature which is always thus andever shall be. So the book’s theme is predacity,the way individuals prey on individuals,groups on groups,nations on nations,tribes on tribes. So I just take this theme andin a sense reincarnate that theme in another context …^[35]

Academic Martin Paul Eve noticed significant differences in the American andBritish editions of the book while writing a paper on the book. He noted “an astonishing degree” of variance andthat “one of the chapters was almost entirely rewritten”.^[36] According to Mitchell,who authorized both editions,the differences emerged because the editor assigned to the book at its US publisher left their job,leaving the US version un-edited for a considerable period. Meanwhile,Mitchell andhis editor andcopy editor in the UK continued to make changes to the manuscript. However,those changes were not passed on to the US publisher,andsimilarly,when a new editor was assigned to the book at the US publisher andmade his own changes,Mitchell did not ask for those to be applied to the British edition,which was very close to being sent to press. Mitchell said: “Due to my inexperience at that stage in my three-book ‘career’,it hadn’t occurred to me that having two versions of the same novel appearing on either side of the Atlantic raises thorny questions over which is definitive,so I didn’t go to the trouble of making sure that the American changes were applied to the British version (which was entering production by that point probably) andvice versa.”^[37]

The novel was adapted to film by directors Tom Tykwer andthe Wachowskis. With an ensemble cast to cover the multiple storylines,production began in September 2011 at Studio Babelsberg in Germany. The film was released in North America on 26 October 2012. In October 2012,Mitchell wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal called “Translating ‘Cloud Atlas’ Into the Language of Film” in which he compared the adapters’ work to translating a work into another language.^[38]

1. ^ Thus prefiguring the Sonmi fabricants,whose restaurant is underground andwhose only food is called “Soap”.
2. ^ A future version of the propose Greater East Asia Co – Prosperity Sphere with the Juche as the high power .
3. ^ Begley,Interviewed by Adam (2010). “Paris Review – The Art of Fiction No. 204,David Mitchell”. The Paris Review. Vol. Summer 2010,no. 193.
4. ^ Staff Writer. “Against all odds,David Mitchell’s novel ‘Cloud Atlas’ now a film”. Akron Beacon Journal. retrieve5 January 2024.
5. ^^{a b} Turrentine,Jeff (22 August 2004). “Washington Post”. retrieve19 April 2008.
6. ^ Mitchell,David (5 February 2005). “The book of revelations”. The Guardian. retrieve12 August 2020.
7. ^ ” Cloud Atlas ” .Critics & Writers. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. retrieve12 July 2024.
8. ^ ” Cloud Atlas ” .Metacritic. Archived from the original on 6 February 2008. retrieve2 March 2024.
9. ^ “Books of the moment: What the papers say”. The Daily Telegraph. 6 March 2004 . p.   190. retrieve19 July 2024.
10. ^ ” Cloud Atlas ” .Book Marks. retrieve11 July 2024.
11. ^ “Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell”. The BookScore. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. retrieve12 July 2024.
12. ^ “Cloud Atlas By David Mitchell”. Bookmarks. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. retrieve14 January 2023.
13. ^ ” Cloud Atlas ” .complete Review. 4 October 2023. retrieve4 October 2023.
14. ^ Oakes,Keily (17 October 2004). “Review: Cloud Atlas”. BBC. retrieve2 August 2012.
15. ^ “Cloud Atlas Review”. Kirkus Reviews. 15 May 2004. retrieve2 August 2012.
16. ^ Miller,Laura (14 September 2004). “Cloud Atlas Review”. The New York Times. retrieve2 August 2012.
17. ^ Anderson,Hephzibah (28 February 2004). “Observer Review: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell”. The Observer. retrieve2 August 2012.
18. ^ Byatt,A. S. (28 February 2004). “Review: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell”. The Guardian. retrieve2 August 2012.
19. ^ Turrentine,Jeff (22 August 2004). “Fantastic Voyage”. The Washington Post. retrieve2 August 2012.
20. ^ ” Cloud Atlas ” .The New Yorker. 23 August 2004. retrieve2 August 2012.
21. ^ Fredric Jameson,The Antinomies of Realism,London andNew York: Verso,2013,p. 305.
22. ^ Murphy,Richard (2004). “David Mitchell. Cloud Atlas”. The Review of Contemporary Fiction.
23. ^ “Books”,F&SF,April 2005,pp.35-37
24. ^ Tait,Theo (1 March 2004). “From Victorian travelogue to airport thriller”. The Daily Telegraph. retrieve2 August 2012.
25. ^ ” The 100 good book of the 21st century ” .The Guardian. 21 September 2019. retrieve22 September 2019.
26. ^ Gates,Bill (18 May 2020). “5 summer books andother things to do at home”. Gates Notes. retrieve13 April 2021.
27. ^ post,The Conservatism of Cloud Atlas was published on You can annotate or comment upon this (21 June 2015). “The Conservatism of Cloud Atlas”. Martin Paul Eve. retrieve5 January 2024.
28. ^ “David Mitchell | The Booker Prizes”. thebookerprizes.com. retrieve5 January 2024.
29. ^ Fictions,© 2023 Science; SFWA®,Fantasy Writers Association; Fiction,Nebula Awards® are registered trademarks of Science; America,Fantasy Writers of; SFWA,Inc Opinions expressed on this web site are not necessarily those of. ” Cloud Atlas ” .The Nebula Awards®. retrieve5 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
30. ^ ” The Arthur C. Clarke Award ” .The Arthur C. Clarke Award. retrieve5 January 2024.
31. ^ Brown,Kevin (2 January 2016). “Finding Stories to Tell: Metafiction andNarrative in David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas”. Journal of Language,Literature andCulture. 63 (1): 77 –90. doi:10.1080/20512856.2016.1152078. ISSN 2051-2856. S2CID 163407425.
32. ^ Hicks,Heather J. (2016),Hicks,Heather J. (ed.),”“This Time Round”: David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas andthe Apocalyptic Problem of Historicism”,The Post – apocalyptic Novel in the Twenty – First Century : modernity beyond salvage,New York: Palgrave Macmillan US,pp. 55 –76,doi:10.1057/9781137545848_3,ISBN 978-1-137-54584-8,S2CID 144729757,retrieved 5 December 2023
33. ^ De Cristofaro,Diletta (15 March 2018). ““Time,no arrow,no boomerang,but a concertina”: Cloud Atlas andthe anti-apocalyptic critical temporalities of the contemporary post-apocalyptic novel”. Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction. 59 (2): 243–257. doi:10.1080/00111619.2017.1369386. ISSN 0011-1619. S2CID 165870410.
34. ^ Mullan,John (12 June 2010). “Guardian book club: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell”. The Guardian. London. retrieve6 August 2010.
35. ^ “Bookclub”. BBC Radio 4. June 2007. retrieve19 April 2008.
36. ^ Eve,Martin Paul (10 August 2016). ““You have to keep track of your changes”: The Version Variants andPublishing History of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas”. Open Library of Humanities. 2 (2): 1. doi:10.16995/olh.82. ISSN   2056 – 6700 .
37. ^ Alison Flood (10 August 2016). “Cloud Atlas ‘astonishingly different’ in US andUK editions,study finds”. The Guardian.
38. ^ Mitchell,David (19 October 2012). “Translating ‘Cloud Atlas’ Into the Language of Film”. The Wall Street Journal. retrieve19 October 2012.