[personal profile] quippe
The Blurb On The Back:

Six interlocking lives - one amazing adventure. In a narrative that circles the globe and reaches from the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of time, genre and language to offer an enthralling vision of humanity's will to power, and where it will lead us.



It took me a lot longer to get into this book then normal and that's because I could not get into the first section (The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing). This is because I'm not a fan of 19th century writing and Mitchell has faithfully recreated the language, attitudes and style of the time, in a way that simply did not appeal to me. This is not to criticise him, it's just that he does such a good job that I can't relate to the character or his adventures.

However, once I got past this section, I really enjoyed the book. In essence, I think that it's less a novel and more six short stories and whilst they are interlocking, for me the links are a little too tenuous (e.g. the Letters from Zedelghem is connected to The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing by having the protagonist discover his journal and Half-Lives - The First Luisa Rey Mystery is connected to The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish by someone sending Cavendish the novel of the Luisa Rey Mystery). However, each story works v. well on its own and my particular favourite was the Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, the story of a blustering, crooked publisher who finds himself accidentally committed to the old people's home from hell. There's an awful lot of humour in the story and you find yourself split between enjoying the man's torture to sympathising with his plight.

What is incredible is that Mitchell manages to create six distinct tones and six distinct styles of writing. For example Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After is told in a first person post-apocalyptic dialect that never fails to be credible, An Orisen of Somni is narration through inquisition, Letters from Zedelghem utilises an epistle format. Technically it's outstanding and I'm not surprised that it was shortlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize.

I'm not sure that this is a book that would appeal to everyone and it's not won that won me emotionally. Two of the stories are essentially science fiction and that can be a turn-off to some people. I also think that at times, it's a little too clever for its own good, as thought Mitchell was too impressed with himself and at times that slips into contrivance. For example, would you really believe that people would be able to find a copy of the movie version of The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish in the far east? I think it tests credibility. However, it is well worth a read.

The Verdict:

Technically this is an excellent book, but it grabs me by the head rather than the heart (despite its intentions to the contrary). I would recommend reading it for the assured way in which Mitchell keeps the strands together and uses so many different styles and voices.
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quippe

July 2025

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