The Cloud Atlas

Rating:
Summary: loved this book
Review: A book with a priest as the central character is not one I'd usually pick. But Cloud Atlas was wonderful -- a great story that keeps you on edge, characters that capture your imagination as their stories unfold, plus the environment of Alaska, spirituality, and secrets. And I ended up really liking the priest!

Rating:
Summary: An astonishing tale of love and survival set during WW II
Review: All the accolades I have read about Liam Callanan in the dustjacket of his literary debut, "The Cloud Atlas", are well deserved. This is one of the most impressive debuts in contemporary fiction which I've come across. Callanan deftly weaves an engaging story within another, equally memorable, tale. While elderly Roman Catholic priest Louis Belk watches his friend Ronnie, a Yup'ik Eskimo shaman, die, he begins to reflect on his own experiences as a U. S. Army soldier in the waning days of World War II. He stumbles inadvertently upon a new Japanese secret weapon and is sent to a top secret bomb disposal unit in Alaska. Its commander, Captain Gurney, is a brilliant cross between Conrad's Colonel Kurz and Melville's Captain Ahab, and like both, soon descends into madness. Belk is swept eventually in an intricate, dangerous love triangle with Gurney and Lily, a half Russian, half Yup'ik, fortune teller, with an uncanny ability to see the fate of others, while forsaking her own complex emotions and past lurking within her mind. Callanan is an engaging storyteller and a writer capable of crafting elegant, lyrical prose. I eagerly await reading more of his fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Wow...
Review: An absolutely masterful blending of history, fiction, and the fantastic. An amazing debut, with characters that are fully fleshed out, and narrative that transports the reader into a wonderful adventure with little/no need for suspension of disbelief. At times, Callanan's prose reminded me of Mark Helprin's "Winter's Tale" or "A Soldier of the Great War". Beautiful stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This One
Review: do yourself a favor and read this one. Everything about it: the setting, the characters, the language, the love and the tragedy are executed to perfection. I cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next because this is just a unique read. It makes you long for an adventure/experience such as that lived by the characters of the Cloud Atlas.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This One
Review: do yourself a favor and read this one. Everything about it: the setting, the characters, the language, the love and the tragedy are executed to perfection. I cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next because this is just a unique read. It makes you long for an adventure/experience such as that lived by the characters of the Cloud Atlas.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Facts, Bad Story
Review: I found this book by searching on topics related to the Japanese balloon attacks in World War II. Being a reader swayed toward non-fiction I thought it may be good to read a fact-based fiction novel as this is advertised. Unfortunately the story wrapped around the facts is complicated and boring.

Despite the plot issues, the writing itself can be very good at times. It was enjoyable to read the well written descriptions of the Japanese balloons like; "If you've ever been that man on the ground, you know there is something about the silence of a balloon in flight that consumes you, that renders everything around it silent, as if the balloon's magic included not only flight but the ability to swallow sound." The portraits of Great Alaska are also exceptional and seem to come from a man who has lived through an Alaskan cycle of all day light and all day dark. Unfortunately the uncomfortable cobbling of an awkward asexual love story with the unreachable world of native spirituality is really confusing. Much of the time I found myself wondering if Belk (the main character) was dreaming or living the sequence being described and could not stitch together the actual story the author wanted me to see. I understand that mysticism leaves unanswered questions, but in the end the reader wants to know the story. You can't help but want to scream at Belk to take control of his life and his emotions by jumping Lily and killing his Col. Kurz (Gurley). You also want to tell off the author for the length and complexity of Belk's torture, but your really not sure how much he endured and how much he dreamed.

Near the end of the book I found myself hoping for more descriptions of the curious balloons as I trudged through the mud of the love story. In reality I just wanted the story to end so I knew the ending. I'd read more by this author if he promised to concentrate his story on a more simple thread and leveraged his descriptive ability to enhance the story rather than surround it.

Rating:
Summary: Up, Up and Away
Review: I loved this book. It was haunting and moving, while at the same time telling a fascinating and exciting story from our country's wartime past. It's clear that the writer very thoroughly researched many elements of the novel, including its setting, Alaska, and the audacious attempt by Japan to float bombs to U.S. soil. But Callanan knows another subject even more intimately -- the human heart.

Rating:
Summary: Great story, mediocre dialogue, cultural stereotypes.
Review: I read this book because it was recommended on NPR. The story itself is compelling and unpredictable. The beginning and the end move along quite well, but near the middle of the book the tale begins to ramble.

The things I disliked about the book were the corny dialogue and the stereotypical, mysterious "Asian Female". Overall I'd recommend the book but the author should probably get a new editor.

Rating:
Summary: A great start for the author
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was initially attracted by the subject of balloon bombs and the Alaskan setting. The author's excellent research would have made this book worthwhile for just those two items; however, the plot and the characters are what made this such a treat to read. Callanan has done a masterful job weaving a rich tapestry of human emotion, religion, and mysticism against a fascinating historical background. I hope I do not have to wait too long for his next novel.

Rating:
Summary: Too introspective
Review: I though there was too much introspection and remorse in this. The story has interest, but I don't really think the author was able to make this as interesting as I would like. More action would have helped. Less mysticism as well. But, what do I know!