MOAR BOOKS

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

This is the story of Adam Ewing, an 19th century American lawyer waiting for a boat to take him across the Pacific to San Francisco. It’s also the story of Robert Frobisher, wastrel and composer in the 1930s, who flees his creditors and family to serve as the amanuensis¹ of an ailing elderly composer; Luisa Rei, a 1970s journalist investigating safety concerns at a nuclear power plant; Timothy Cavendish, vanity publisher in the early 2000s, who has an unexpected bestseller after his latest author kills a book critic; Sonmi-451, fabricant labourer in a food hall in future Korea; and Zachry, who’s just trying to get by in post-apocalypse Hawai’i.

Instead of interleaving the various stories, it’s structured like a Matryoska doll—the story of Ewing is interrupted by Frobisher’s, which halts for Rei’s and so on; until we get to Zachry’s story, which is told from beginning to end. Then we resume Sonmi’s story and finish it; then Cavendish’s; and so on, until we’re finally back with Ewing on his sea voyage. The protagonist or each story is somehow aware of the previous story, whether that be Luisa Rei reading the letters written by Robert Frobisher, or Sonmi watching a movie based on Cavendish’s memoir. There are hints about reincarnation, but nothing solid.

It’s a fascinating book. I really enjoyed it, and kind of want to outline each story to see if they’re all essentially the same. Another guy bailed on it, citing Mythcreant’s ANTS criteria to explain why. The discussion about it was probably the most we’ve ever talked about a book.

1636: Mission to the Mughals, by Eric Flint and Griffin Barber

One of the draws of the Ring of Fire series is that they generally attempt to be as historically accurate as possible (while also writing about 20th century Americans causing havoc in 17th century Europe). I loved 1635: The Cannon Law, and it’s mostly a portrait of Rome and papal politics. This book turns the focus to the Mughal Empire, particularly the court and harem of Shah Jahan, who is best known for building the Taj Mahal.

Here’s what I tweeted:

After poking away at 1636: Mission to the Mughals for several months, I’m finally near the end. It’s an interesting setting, but I haven’t glommed onto any of the characters, and the plot is slow. It’s been a slog.

Yeah. I had a hard time keeping the trade representatives from the USE straight, and all the tasty tension was on Mughal side. This book would’ve been stronger if it were entirely from the Mughals’ perspectives.