Cloud Atlas

Next on my "books what I read" list is David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, a recommendation of my friend Nick, whose taste is very very good. Or at least very similar to mine, which may not be the same thing.

Cloud Atlas is a collection of 6 stories, 5 of which are interrupted halfway through by the next. The hero of story B will find that his manuscript of story A was incomplete and so on. After the sixth story is told in full, the one which preceded it resumes, creating a mirror image until we finish with the second half of the opening story.

The idea is that the characters in all of the stories are in some way connected, although their historical settings range from the 19th century to thousands of years in the future. Many of them are revealed to have a birthmark in the shape of a comet. The youthful addressee of a series of letters in one story has grown into an aged nuclear scientist in the next. A deviant mutant in one story has evolved into a deity thousands of years later.

Most of the stories are set in genres of their own - we have a historical yarn fighting for space with a political thriller and pure science fiction, and each is beautifully written, although all the chopping and changing reminded me a little of Italo Calvino's "If on a winter's night a traveller".

I did wish that the connections between the stories had been a little sounder. They seemed at times to be crowbarred in and only once or twice did they create the "gosh, it's a small world" sensation which can be so satisfying in novels which tell more than one story.

It also seemed a shame that, given that Mitchell was clearly intent on skipping a couple of centuries (at least) each time he started a new story, he chose the nineteenth century as a starting point. The inevitable result was to take him into the future and the world of science fiction which is less appealing to me than a good historical novel - something Mitchell is clearly capable of writing.

Having said that, if you take both of those points to their logical conclusion, where do you end up?

I'm so obsessed that I'm becoming a bore

oh no

Furniture shopping is filling the void that not being given any word on account of serving my notice has created, and I am helped in this by a relocation allowance for the move up North.

I don't even know where to look. I've reached 28 without ever having to furnish my own flat, and it's not easy. I thought I was good at shopping, but with this the pressure is on to get it right because this stuff lasts for years and you can't just leave it in the bottom of the wardrobe if you decide it makes your bum look big!

Arthur & George

SEP, DON'T READ THIS IF YOU'RE GOING TO BORROW IT

I thought I might also use this Blog to keep track of what I've been reading, which this week has mostly been Arthur & George by Julian Barnes.

Just finished it tonight actually. Really rated it. I used to love the Sherlock Holmes stories when I was a teenager, and so I enjoyed learning a little bit more about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - I wasn't aware of his interest in spiritualism, for example.

It's an interesting story too - something it would be difficult to believe if it wasn't based on fact. An Indian man who converts to the Church of England and moves to the rural Midlands having been trained as a vicar, and the subsequent persecution of his solicitor son. It turns out that Conan Doyle not only helped to overturn a wrongful conviction (in a real-life Sherlock Holmes style) but also stirred up such a controversy about the whole thing that it was instrumental in the setting up of the criminal court of appeal. Bless him, despite the facial hair.

Obviously it being about an author I admire "Arthur" and a solicitor "George", there was a lot for me to find compelling, but it was an extremely well written book too. I tend to skip bits, but not in this case. I might even see if I can dig out some more Julian Barnes one day.

Thanks for the Valentine's present, Sep!

I've stolen a cat

Look

Or at least he has decided that pottering about my kitchen is better than lurking in the garden Where The Foxes Are.

I'm assuming it's a he cat, not really being inclined to check. It is a little bit snaggletoothed which would be unfortunate in a girl, but is more acceptable in a boy. In fact, it makes him look quite rugged.

He belongs to my neighbours but has decided to pay me a visit. He does that sometimes. At the moment he mostly seems to be watching Star Trek, scratching and drinking. I shall call him Sep.

Welcome to my woooorld

Hello. This was all Sep's idea, but he's a bit rubbish at computers so I had to do it. He doesn't know about it yet, but will do soon, so look on the nudey pics as a temporary glimpse into a forbidden world of wonder. Or something.

To be honest Nigel Harman on the telly is proving a bit of a let down and I couldn't think of anything better to do. Actually that's a lie. I can think of the hoovering for example. I'm just unspeakably lazy. I will tend to ramble I suspect but I hope he will make up for it with his rapier wit and impeccable personal hygiene. Sep that is, not Nigel Harman - he could be an unwashed dullard for all I know. Meh.

Aaaanyway.

If you're reading this, hello there little one. Hope you like it here.

If you're not then your mother is the whore of my village.

That'll do. Good.