MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - MobileRead November 2012 Discussion: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (spoilers)

WT Sharpe · 11-21-2012, 10:09 AM

Some quick observations:

• I was glad when reading this book that I have a reader (mine is the Kindle Paperwhite) that not only has a good dictionary, but also translates foreign phrases; as unfamiliar terms and forays into non-English territory are liberally sprinkled throughout the book.

• The book had many notable and quotable passages, as seen from the quotes posted in kennyc's quotation thread. Search the thread, and you'll find a wealth of wonderful quotations from Cloud Atlas.

• The line in "Letters from Zedelghem" introducing the start of the affair between Robert Frobisher and Vyvyan Ayrs's wife ("Which brings me to Madame Jocasta Crommelynck. Damn my eyes, Sixsmith, if the woman hasn’t begun, subtly, to flirt with me.") reminded me of the situation between the young Lord Bertrand Russell and his mentor and co-author Alfred North Whitehead. Might that have been in David Mitchell's mind when he wrote those segments?

11-21-2012, 10:09 AM	#10
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,073 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	Some quick observations: • I was glad when reading this book that I have a reader (mine is the Kindle Paperwhite) that not only has a good dictionary, but also translates foreign phrases; as unfamiliar terms and forays into non-English territory are liberally sprinkled throughout the book. • The book had many notable and quotable passages, as seen from the quotes posted in kennyc's quotation thread. Search the thread, and you'll find a wealth of wonderful quotations from Cloud Atlas. • The line in "Letters from Zedelghem" introducing the start of the affair between Robert Frobisher and Vyvyan Ayrs's wife ("Which brings me to Madame Jocasta Crommelynck. Damn my eyes, Sixsmith, if the woman hasn’t begun, subtly, to flirt with me.") reminded me of the situation between the young Lord Bertrand Russell and his mentor and co-author Alfred North Whitehead. Might that have been in David Mitchell's mind when he wrote those segments?