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the_scarlett_ning t1_ja26jsv wrote

I loved Ghostwritten!! I thought it better than Cloud Atlas, but it’s hard to say exactly why. I think because Ghostwritten has a more vague concept at first, and it’s only at the end that you really understand these weren’t all just various tales about mostly unconnected people and places, but they were linked together to culminate in that final tale which is foreboding (to me), but a bit open ended.

By having the common narrator in Cloud Atlas, I felt it gave that “Aha!” moment away. But maybe that’s because I’d already read Ghostwritten and I’d have felt differently if I read CA first.

I also loved The Bone Clocks, and then Slade House. I found Slade House to be more sinister and frightening than Bone Clocks, which is odd since >! The villains in BC could move around while the Slade House had to lure people to come into the house !<

Utopia was entertaining, but felt very different from the others, but I haven’t yet read “The Thousand Summers…”, Black Swan Green, or Number9Dream.

Why would you say Ghostwritten was your favorite? Which was your least?

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mankindmatt5 OP t1_ja2a7b5 wrote

I think Mitchell is a pretty worldly or well travelled guy, so something I really like about Ghostwritten is the sheer number of interesting locations and tidbits about the local culture.

Especially as I'm of an Irish extraction, and have spent a fair whack of time in Japan and Hong Kong.

I'd also say the 'Holy Mountain' chapter is seminal. Feels rather like a very condensed version of 'Wild Swans', beautifully told. Then the Mongolia chapter takes things from interesting, odd, random connections to a whole new level.

I just finished Slade House last night, and it was indeed very very scary. I'm guessing that we will see a bit more from Norah, and Enomoto in future novels.

I also assume Hugo Lamb and Holly Sykes grandkids will show up somewhere down the line.

Least favourite, but only just, probably Utopia Avenue - and I really enjoyed that one anyway. Although I probably should have read it after Bone Clocks.

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the_scarlett_ning t1_ja2bwpp wrote

If you can find a copy, you should check out The Incarnations by Sue Barker. It has a similar feel to Mitchell, especially Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas. It’s a bit darker, more gruesome though.

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Accomplished_Web1549 t1_ja2ni9j wrote

But not Sue Barker off of Question of Sport and Wimbledon, just to keep the British novelist/celebrity confusion going.

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the_scarlett_ning t1_ja2bq81 wrote

Wait, “Wild Swans” or “Black Swan Green”?

I’d like to plot all his novels from before he had his son and after and see if I can recognize any changes in his writing. Like Utopia seems so different from his other stuff (although maybe it’s more along the ones I haven’t read yet), I wonder if becoming a dad, especially to a special needs boy, made him want to write something more hopeful (? I’m not sure if that’s the right word, but less dark).

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mankindmatt5 OP t1_ja2cb84 wrote

Wild Swans by Jung Chang

It's a biographical account of three generations of Chinese women, going through the shift from feudal China, civil war, and Mao's cultural revolution

In 'Holy Mountain' we get to see the same woman live through all of that.

As for Utopia Ave, maybe just wanted to write something fun? I think darkness will be back on the menu whenever his next one is out.

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the_scarlett_ning t1_ja2ceim wrote

Omg! I have that book! I love it! But I’ve never heard anyone else reference it. That’s awesome!

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mankindmatt5 OP t1_ja2l5yq wrote

>By having the common narrator in Cloud Atlas, I felt it gave that “Aha!” moment away

By the way, sorry, what do you mean by this? The main character in each story is a reincarnation?

I think I read that theory somewhere once before, but it doesn't add up somehow.

Timothy Cavendish and Luisa Rey are alive at the same time, are they not? So they can't be the same soul.

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the_scarlett_ning t1_ja41wb6 wrote

Hmm, I’d have to go back and check again but I definitely got the feeling that there was some kind of reincarnation/rebirth. Maybe it was just kindred spirits.

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wordyshipmate82 t1_ja2yqu3 wrote

Utopia was different, which was nice, it didn't feel like a David Mitchell book like the others, particularly Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas do. I love the latter books, but I would welcome any work from him, regardless of the presence or lack of the quasi-magical realism of some of his books.

The other book that does not have these elements is probably Black Swan Green; his most traditional novel.

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