Date of Completion: 03/08/2020
Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.
In this book, David Mitchell uses six short stories to present different manifestations of power and greed in different time periods. Whilst this premise sounds very cool and exciting, it is not immediately obvious during the first half of the book; and personally, I think this is where David misses the mark. To make matters worse, nothing about the beginning of this book is particularly captivating or intriguing.
David begins the book with Adam Ewing’s story which is filled with crude references to slavery and racism. I understand that this was so the story could be historically accurate and to set the scene for future revelations. However, as a person of African heritage, this did not make reading the story any easier. Sadly, I also found the other five stories just as tedious to read with readers being forced to put up with countless apostrophes and annoying spelling, all in the name of ‘creativity’. Surely there are other creative ways of showing different time periods or creating distinct settings!
Souls cross ages like clouds cross skies, an’ tho’ a cloud’s shape nor hue nor size don’t stay the same it’s still a cloud an’ so is a soul.
What’s more, each story is highly convoluted and drawn out. I am pretty sure I simply scanned at least half of this book just so I could finish reading it. However, having watched the movie, I understand that a lot of the content given in the book actually helps to create convincing, memorable characters. Nonetheless, I still feel that there are sections in every story that could have been omitted.
Each story also contain scenes that just feel gimmicky and forced, in order for the storyline to progress in a certain direction. For instance, in one story, the “bad guy” reveals his plan and what he has done to the main character because he believes that the character would die soon, which is sooooo cliché. In another story, the main character suddenly falls in love with someone he rarely interacts with and who he found annoying up to that point.
Don’t get me wrong, there is no mistaking that David Mitchell is a very talented writer. He manages to create six unique narratives that are well defined and somewhat interesting. Additionally, he cleverly explores different manifestations of power and greed whilst also providing some hope that individuals really can make a difference. This message is so powerfully presented that I know this book will play on my mind for weeks.
However, the convoluted plots together with the bizarre and grandiloquent language used in most of the book only creates a disconnect that made it difficult for me to fully immerse myself in each story. Frankly, I would not have finished reading this book if I had not been reading and discussing it with a friend. I definitely recommend doing this if you plan to read this book and, like me, you do not usually read “abstract” or “philosophical” books.
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