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deanrossss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
mysimas's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Meditative look at humanity, civilisation, and the effect of an individual on the system at large. Some beautiful prose and impactful one-liners. Strong narrative voices of the individual POV characters.
Plot-wise, some of the short stories were individually quite weak. The letters from Frobisher the composer were among the most enjoyable parts for me style-wise, but in terms of plot ended up quite unimpressive. I’d also have appreciated a stronger interconnectedness of the stories, such as if perhaps the incarnations learned from their past lives or were somehow directly influenced by them. What we have instead are fleeting mentions and references that have zero impact on the events.An example for all - Frobisher commits suicide despite having read Adam Ewing’s diary, in which the latter laments the tragic suicide of a boy of about Frobisher’s age. But does this stop Frobisher or does he at the very least refer to it? Not at all.
Plot-wise, some of the short stories were individually quite weak. The letters from Frobisher the composer were among the most enjoyable parts for me style-wise, but in terms of plot ended up quite unimpressive. I’d also have appreciated a stronger interconnectedness of the stories, such as if perhaps the incarnations learned from their past lives or were somehow directly influenced by them. What we have instead are fleeting mentions and references that have zero impact on the events.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident
damjanotom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
At first the form of the book in the vernacular and perspective of each character in their context is quite jarring but as the fragmented pieces of the 6 stories that make up the book are tied together, the humanity of each character and the shared history of the cast comes together to a cohesive and profound whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
hocuscrocus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Rape, Alcohol, and Colonisation
asolis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
Little library find. Six stories nested within each other - you pass halfway through each until you reach the center and work your way back through each second half in reverse order. While the stories are clearly linked together, I expected a stronger connection to reveal itself over time.
I admit most of them took a minute to get into and I almost quit the whole book about 5 pages in. But once you get the hang of each story's dialect it draws you in hard.
A lot of racism and I often wondered whether it was for effect, "historical accuracy," or why it was necessary. But ultimately it contributes to the overall track towards anticapitalism and environmentalism, a warning against white supremacy and the havoc it has and will wreak upon our planet and its people.
I was pleased to benefit from my recent reading of Brave New World and 1984, which are especially referenced in the 5th story.
I admit most of them took a minute to get into and I almost quit the whole book about 5 pages in. But once you get the hang of each story's dialect it draws you in hard.
A lot of racism and I often wondered whether it was for effect, "historical accuracy," or why it was necessary. But ultimately it contributes to the overall track towards anticapitalism and environmentalism, a warning against white supremacy and the havoc it has and will wreak upon our planet and its people.
I was pleased to benefit from my recent reading of Brave New World and 1984, which are especially referenced in the 5th story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
random19379's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Suicide
whackettreading's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape
silentbutcuddly's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
“Cloud Atlas” is a series of interconnected stories that span centuries, each containing characters who are the reincarnated people from the previous stories. I wasn’t a fan of all the stories that took place in the distance, nor was I fan of the racism therein. I also though all the stories started blurring together in a bland sameness as the book progressed.
And most of the stories failed to pique my interest aside from Sonmi-451, which follows a clone who gains sentience. Initially I thought this was a clever story, until I realized the clone in Sonmi-451 was essential an android in all but name, making it a cliche story about a robot becoming sentient.
Overall, I just thought the book was average and give it 3 out of 5 stars. You might like this more than me if you’re into historical fiction, which most of these stories were.
And most of the stories failed to pique my interest aside from Sonmi-451, which follows a clone who gains sentience. Initially I thought this was a clever story, until I realized the clone in Sonmi-451 was essential an android in all but name, making it a cliche story about a robot becoming sentient.
Overall, I just thought the book was average and give it 3 out of 5 stars. You might like this more than me if you’re into historical fiction, which most of these stories were.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
spacebee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Colonisation
artmuseam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
this is probably one of the most confusing but extraordinary books i’ve ever come across. first, i particularly enjoyed the ways in which different storylines from various timelines all connected together through “easter eggs”, but i didn’t entirely understand the significance of how each storyline was connected to each other. i also didn’t like the storyline occurring in the middle. perhaps this is just me being uptight on my end, but when i read something that is difficult to decipher and takes a while to actually understand what the convoluted words are saying, i lose motivation to read on. in fact, i had to skim through that entire part just for the sake of finishing the story and seeing what happens in the end. i will say, however, that the other storylines were quite thrilling and kept me at the edge of my seat. when i noticed those easter eggs, i grew excited and wanted to find the significance—only to realize there wasn’t really one (unless i misread, or just completely skipped over it?) the concept itself was very interesting and the different writing styles (aside from the middle one) created a lively and visceral setting for the entire book. who knows, maybe i will have to give this a reread in the future to actually grasp it. this was definitely a confusing, thought provoking, and disoriented read that i weirdly enjoyed. 4.5/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, and Sexual assault