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David Mitchell
- Thread starter fluffy bunny
- Start date
Ya Krunk'd Floo
New Member
Shade said:
I see your post and raise you 'how the hell have you read it already if it isn't published until April 2006'?
As for his new book being more traditional in structure; I think it's good. He could have become mired in a whole as the literary equivalent of M. Night Shamalangadingdong.
Ya Krunk'd Floo
New Member
Well, how's that person read it?!?!? If it's already in the can, wouldn't it be pertinent to release it before it's all over the whole internet?
Ya Krunk'd Floo
New Member
Either that or his southern pole is rather vocal...
Just finished Ghostwritten. I really enjoyed the book, but like others have said, the ending kind of fell flat for me. But there is something about his style that really draws me in.
Writing a book in the styles he uses for Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas runs the risk of coming off as 'gimmicky'. Luckily, his writing is more than good enough to not fall into that trap. He has a real ability to write in different voices, and I especially liked the way that Ghostwritten tied each successive section to the last. Cloud Atlas did this well too, but they were sometimes harder to spot which kind of pulled me out of the story.
Now I'm a little nervous to read Number9dream since the consensus seems to be that I've already finished his two best books. But since I've come this far, there's no way that I'm not reading his other novels.
Writing a book in the styles he uses for Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas runs the risk of coming off as 'gimmicky'. Luckily, his writing is more than good enough to not fall into that trap. He has a real ability to write in different voices, and I especially liked the way that Ghostwritten tied each successive section to the last. Cloud Atlas did this well too, but they were sometimes harder to spot which kind of pulled me out of the story.
Now I'm a little nervous to read Number9dream since the consensus seems to be that I've already finished his two best books. But since I've come this far, there's no way that I'm not reading his other novels.
Did anyone else notice that Luisa Rey was in both Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas? I was actually pretty surprised that I caught it when I ran across her name in Ghostwritten.
If you read Ghostwritten first, her appearance is so short that you probably wouldn't recall the name when you ran across it in Cloud Atlas.
Are there any other characters in both that I missed?
If you read Ghostwritten first, her appearance is so short that you probably wouldn't recall the name when you ran across it in Cloud Atlas.
Are there any other characters in both that I missed?
SevenWritez
New Member
Well that's odd, I thought Number9Dream kicked the shit out of Ghostwritten. I've yet to read Cloud Atlas or Black Swan Green, though.
I think Ghostwritten was amazing simply because of how well all the different characters were voiced, but for the same reason made me dislike it a bit. Some of those characters I loved, and then Mitch would send me off to deal with some bitch-ass lady at a museum that I hated. Yeh, sorry for the French and what-not, but I hated that character. It was painful moving on in her narrative.
I think Ghostwritten was amazing simply because of how well all the different characters were voiced, but for the same reason made me dislike it a bit. Some of those characters I loved, and then Mitch would send me off to deal with some bitch-ass lady at a museum that I hated. Yeh, sorry for the French and what-not, but I hated that character. It was painful moving on in her narrative.
MonkeyCatcher
New Member
I've just finished Ghostwritten, and I like it just as much as everyone else seems to. I can see why it might be called gimmicky, but I liked the fact that the stories overlapped only a fraction - events from other stories were usually given 2-3 sentences tops. It could have become a lot more gimmicky then it was.
I liked the Mongolia story the best. Jumping from character to character kept it different and interesting.
I liked the Mongolia story the best. Jumping from character to character kept it different and interesting.
I have nothing of substance to add to the discussion, except that I've read Black Swan Green and Cloud Atlas and enjoyed both. The gimmick in Cloud Atlas didn't bother me, but I confess to cheating and reading the Wiki entry about the book when I came to the section that ended in mid-sentence. "Something's going on here and I need to be in on it!" I'm kinda dense sometimes. I still don't understand what happened in Atwood's Blind Assassin.
I only just came across this website and couldn't resist adding my thoughts on David Mitchell.
He is in my opinion one of the best writers around and I hope he continues writing for a long time to come. I have read Cloud Atlas, Ghostwritten, Number9dream and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, in that order and can't wait to read Black Swan Green. I love the way Mitchell writes; the interesting words he uses, characters with real depth, and absorbing and immensely creative storylines and settings. I particularly enjoyed being immersed in the fascinating Japanese culture of Number9Dream and The Thousand Autumns.
I actually find it imopssible to say which is my favourite of his novels but it's probably a toss up between Number9dream and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet. I think I prefer when he stays mostly with one story, although in saying that I loved how Cloud Atlas jumped between the 6 different stories!
He is in my opinion one of the best writers around and I hope he continues writing for a long time to come. I have read Cloud Atlas, Ghostwritten, Number9dream and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, in that order and can't wait to read Black Swan Green. I love the way Mitchell writes; the interesting words he uses, characters with real depth, and absorbing and immensely creative storylines and settings. I particularly enjoyed being immersed in the fascinating Japanese culture of Number9Dream and The Thousand Autumns.
I actually find it imopssible to say which is my favourite of his novels but it's probably a toss up between Number9dream and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet. I think I prefer when he stays mostly with one story, although in saying that I loved how Cloud Atlas jumped between the 6 different stories!
Abecedarius
New Member
Late to the party here, but I concur with what most of you have said, David Mitchell is very talented. Cloud Atlas was one of the best books I read in 2008. I've also read Black Swan Green and have a copy of Number 9 Dream on my shelf as well.
He's a keeper!
He's a keeper!
Zach Ezo
New Member
Oh man, I got all excited when I saw this thread, but it's not the David Mitchell I'm thinking of.
The one I'm thinking of is on the show Peep Show, That Mitchel and Webb look, and is probably the wittiest, sharpest guy in Britain.
He often jokes about being confused for the "novelist" David Mitchell even though both are writers.
Funny stuff.
The one I'm thinking of is on the show Peep Show, That Mitchel and Webb look, and is probably the wittiest, sharpest guy in Britain.
He often jokes about being confused for the "novelist" David Mitchell even though both are writers.
Funny stuff.
direstraits
Well-Known Member
Finished Ghostwritten not too long ago, and I have to say Cloud Atlas beats it. I love the way he writes. He's one of those authors where when I'm reading them I get very caught up with their technical skills (the others being Chabon, or Nabokov, or Amis, right the top of my head, I'm sure there are others), simply admiring their ability to write the way they do. Like savouring the words. Hard to explain. Like you want to read the words over and over again. Blah.
I was blown away, frankly, at how 7 distinctly different stories were written in such distinctly different styles and voices, all the same person for Cloud Atlas. Amazing. He gives me this impression of being this precocious kid who submits a 10 page report complete with Latin quotations for a high-school 2 page summary assignment on the Roman empire. The smartass class nerd.
Anyway, at first I thought his effort in Cloud Atlas was very smart, then I read Ghostwritten and found that he simply improved on the art of layering stories on top of one another which he started earlier is his career.
I was blown away, frankly, at how 7 distinctly different stories were written in such distinctly different styles and voices, all the same person for Cloud Atlas. Amazing. He gives me this impression of being this precocious kid who submits a 10 page report complete with Latin quotations for a high-school 2 page summary assignment on the Roman empire. The smartass class nerd.
Anyway, at first I thought his effort in Cloud Atlas was very smart, then I read Ghostwritten and found that he simply improved on the art of layering stories on top of one another which he started earlier is his career.
I got his entire backlist, and shall enjoy reading him for a time.