The Many Experiences of "Cloud Atlas"

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Godspeed and be kind...

"The lovelorn, the cry-for-helpers, all mawkish tragedians who give suicide a bad name are the idiots who rush it, like amateur conductors. A true suicide is a paced, disciplined certainty. People pontificate, "Suicide is selfishness." Career churchmen like Pater go a step further and call it a cowardly assault on the living. Oafs argue this specious line for varying reasons: to evade fingers of blame, to impress one's audience with one's mental fiber, to vent anger, or just because one lacks the necessary suffering to sympathize. Cowardice is nothing to do with it – suicide takes considerable courage. Japanese have the right idea. No, what's selfish is to demand another to endure an intolerable existence, just to spare families, friends, and enemies a bit of soul-searching. The only selfishness lies in ruining strangers' days by forcing 'em to witness a grotesqueness."

- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Some people here might remember when I first spoke about my experiences with the novel Cloud Atlas and the prompt may be about one specific instance but every memory I have of reading this novel has been one of breathtaking wonder. And so, here is my best attempt at describing the awe associated with immersing yourself in the greatest novel of the 21st century.

Of course, I will be going through the very best memories I have associated with this novel, and not all of them are simply about sitting there and reading it. Some are concerning the experience I have had with it in the real world. And of course, all of them are simply priceless to me.

The language of Cloud Atlas can only be described as one of the most atmospheric experiences of the English Language in the last 50 years. I noted this in one of my former articles entitled Cloud Atlas: A Reading Experience where it has been proven time and time again that the novel left me with a sense of awe - it is such a complex novel. From changing the way I saw time and whether it was linear or not, to the way I saw existence itself and even the way I thought about those who had decided to commit the final act of self slaughter. In fact, take a look at what I had to say about the reading experience of this book and other David Mitchell novels. (There's a picture of the passage below) I stand by the fact that this book constantly beckons me back and has (every time I have re-read it) immersed me in a world it is often difficult and upsetting to leave. Especially now that I recognise when the ending is approaching.

The philosophy often permeates through the novel and the best way to describe it is that it captures the essence of the human soul. We often worry about the mortalities of those we love. The theory of infinite universes and timelines in which our souls are contained makes us not only believe in timelessness as a philosophy - but ensures that we commit acts in this life that have positive consequences for we are all but drops in the ocean. And 'what is any ocean but a multitude of drops?'

I've often likened the experience of reading Cloud Atlas to being immersed in a lukewarm body of water or watching a clear and beautiful sunset whilst the summer air is crisp with hints of humidity. I honestly don't know whether anyone else can comprehend my weird metaphors and similes where I associate one experience with another, but it happens a lot in my writing. I remember quite a while ago that I stayed up on the night of my 21st birthday because I wasn't feeling great. I decided to read some of my favourite passages from Cloud Atlas and it had some healing power over me. These often come from "Letters from Zedelghem" or the penultimate chapter and if I need to pick myself back up, then that is where I turn.

So even though it feels like a slightly humid crisp summer sunset, it can definitely be a warm blanket over a winter night as well.

I often found a friend in the character of Robert Frobisher. A pianist and a composer, he writes the Cloud Atlas - a piece of music. Like a Mozart figure (as an almost demure version of Tom Hulce's 'Amadeus'), he subverts who you'd expect to have his level of talent. But he slowly becomes a man on the run, trapped by his creation and where it has led him. Some of the best scenes in the novel (and probably in the film as well) are those of Robert Frobisher. He is a character for all the misunderstood people in the universe - a representation of the beauty and the terror in art.

When immersed in the novel, it wasn't just about reading it, it was about living it. I often baked cakes dedicated to themes and motifs in the novel, listened to the movie soundtrack whilst writing and of course, got out my highlighter and labelled more of my now-battered paperback copy for a then-university essay I was writing.

This novel is my de facto comfort blanket, a book filled with the most incredible philosophies of time and existence, it teaches us to all be good people because humanity often depends on even the slightest selfless action in order to become better. But more than anything, the novel implies that the base truth of humanity is that everything we do in this life will impact the lives after ours. And thus, their actions impact those after they themselves have shuffled off the mortal coil. Your life is never really just your own. Not entirely anyway. I think that is a beautiful message.

(Lest we forget that the book is also about the negatives concerning this such as: time and predacity, no matter how much the clouds may change, human instinct will definitely remain the same. I don't like getting this dark, I'd rather tell you why I adore the book than why it also terrifies me).

Now to the main part of the story of memories: one thing I was very excited about was the fact that David Mitchell, the author of the novel, would be at the Manchester Literature Festival on the 14th of May, 2024 at 7pm. As you can probably imagine, I bought my ticket the earliest I possibly could and took my labelled copy which was at this point, in pretty bad condition.

The room wasn't exactly huge but it was big enough for everyone who had a seat to see and hear the conversation going on between the presenter and the author. It was fantastic to see how humble he was about creating such a work of genius and, of course, I didn't really contain how much it had impacted me. I definitely looked like an excited four-year-old.

During the Q&A I got to ask him a question which was along the lines of how he felt about creating a timeless work which people are going to be in awe of for generations to come - I knew this, I told him because it had entirely changed my life. It was really at that moment where I'd realised I'd written this down a million times and even lived it several times - but I'd never said it out loud. The catharsis was astounding; I'm sure you could it on my face.

He answered with a humility that can only be revered. I think if I had written something even half as striking as Cloud Atlas I would be rather the show off.

But it goes to show, he does actually believe in his writing. Cloud Atlas is a story itself about the generosity and brilliance in human nature and the fact positive actions can create positive consequence. It is a narrative about how humans have this incredible power to shape the fates of themselves and those to come.

After the talk was over, David Mitchell stayed to sign books and for some reason I told him this was like Beatlemania for me. Honestly though, meeting him was like a Beatles fan meeting one of the band. (Obviously the best Beatle is George Harrison but that's not the point). I bought myself a brand new copy of Cloud Atlas for the special anniversary of the book that was being celebrated and thankfully, he also signed my battered paperback with a lovely message within. This was definitely in response to the 'Beatles' comment I made.

And what better way to celebrate the occasion and solidify that I had actually been there than to promptly take to Twitter about the situation. This photograph attached with a post which read: "If you were to ask me what some of the greatest days of my life are there's one I can tell you right now: meeting David Mitchell." Relatively short and didn't really capture the dopamine which rushed en masse like a rush of blood to the head when I walked into the room. I had definitely been given the time to compose myself, and I was pretty composed - contrary to popular belief.

At the end of the night, I ate some Japanese food with my family and then went home. I cannot tell you how much I simply wanted to get stuck back into the novel, sucked back into those worlds and times, and simply disappear off into the ether of Cloud Atlas once again.

Conclusion

Even though it is not actually my favourite book of all time, Cloud Atlas will always have a special place in my identity as it came to change a lot of things about me. One of the things I began to let go off was the attitude that I was the only person impacted by my actions and even though every time I re-read the novel I learn something else, the experience always remains the same. It is the most and the best of all reading experiences. I know you've read my article on 'What's in a Reading Experience?' but there's a lot to be said about Cloud Atlas and I hope that I have covered most of it.

Now please let me end with one of my favourite passages from the book, of course from my favourite character: Robert Frobisher. He is truly Wildean. This is from his final letter:

“Time cannot permeate this sabbatical. We do not stay dead long. Once my Luger lets me go, my birth, next time around, will be upon me in a heartbeat. Thirteen years from now we'll meet again at Gresham, ten years later I'll be back in this same room, holding this same gun, composing this same letter, my resolution as perfect as my many-headed sextet. Such elegant certainties comfort me at this quiet hour."