Cloud Atlas

So, Cloud Atlas. Undoubtedly a daunting book when you first pick it up, mostly due to it's immense size, though that doesn't usually tend to put me off a book. This novel is divided into sections of narrative, each intelligently woven into the other to create a book which is both argued to be and not to be a dystopia at heart. It is difficult to read this text without receiving a sense of forewarning, as the novel moves from the 19th century through to the far future, after the 'Fall'. Personally, I found this to be one of my favourites out of a year of dystopias, as Cloud Atlas carries a subtlety in it's pages, as well as a sense of hope that humans are not entirely doomed, as Orwell and Huxley would have you believe. Despite being relatively difficult to read in the central section, due to being written in a similar fashion to Riddley Walker, Mitchell's work made for an interesting read, and an even more interesting subject for my essay. Therefore I would thoroughly recommend this novel to those who have the time and patience to read it, especially if you are exploring different dystopia novels, as it contrasts greatly to the bleakness of many of those traditionally classed within that genre.