marissasa's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Cloud Atlas is a long, sweeping narrative with each chapter about a different person who is a reincarnation of the previous chapter's main character and the ways they are all interconnected despite existing in different eras experiencing wildly different situations. The theory was very cool to me and I was intrigued by the way that the book doesn't spell out any of the world-building sci-fi elements clearly, leaving the whole reincarnation idea up to interpretation for the most part. However, out of the 6 main characters, 4 were white men whose stories really paled in comparison to the 2 women's chapters. Luisa and especially Sonmi-451 carried this book in my opinion. While their chapters were engaging, action-packed, and full of social commentary, I felt the other chapters dragged on and were far less memorable. I even felt like the first character we were introduced to was by far the least interesting, which made it tough to read since his chapters were the very first one and the last one. Although I liked the premise I just wanted more in the execution from this book.
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Body horror, Sexual content, Biphobia, Child death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence
read_write_paint's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Beautiful book. I also recommend this author's other works especially "The Bone Clocks".
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia
rachelunabridged's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Slavery
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Rape
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