Quote:
Originally Posted by raychensmith
Am reading Cloud Atlas right now. I'm on the second story right now--the composer in Belgium--and while it's slow-moving, I am amazed by David Mitchell's writing ability. There are some young writers who get a lot of attention for, IMHO, gimmicks that mask what otherwise might be a mediocre talent (I immediately think of Markus Zusak and his Holocaust-pornish The Book Thief), but Mitchell is the real deal. I'm very, very, very impressed, and will definitely finish the book despite its slow pace.
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haha, you are spot on re: The Book Thief. Sooo overrated. Zusak was clearly striving mightily for some sort of awe-inspiring, transcendent emotional response, but it just didn't work for me.
back to David Mitchell...he is very good. For those who have trepidation about reading "experimental" fiction - I don't read that stuff either, my tastes are solidly middlebrow - and I like Mitchell. I started out with the awesome Black Swan Green, which has a relatively straightforward structure. I then went on to Ghostwritten, which was beautifully written, but for me the ending didn't quite come together. I then read the utterly fascinating No. 9 Dream. Still have Cloud Atlas and "Jacob" to go, looking forward to it.