I just finished reading Cloud Atlas on the way home from work today (on the Strassenbahn)…as I mentioned when I started it does not say anywhere on the cover what the book it about…
OK, so basically it is six narratives…starting in the 1800 (with an english guy as I mentioned), it moved forward to the 1930’s, the 70’s, the 00’s, the nearish future, then the far distant future (semi post apocalyptic). then backwards again through the narratives…the stories were only slighty tied together…
SO…..I kept waiting for something to happen and it (something) never really did…
I didn’t find a point until the last few pages (and I probably missed the point to be honest), but in every storyline there basically was an overclass (British Merchants, egotistical composer, crazy japanese guy that talks to cats, capitalist-over-consumers) and a lower class that was being taken advantage of (natives, clones, cats etc.). Along the way it warned of over-consumption, war, greed, etc.
I’m going to type a passage here, cuz it sort of sums it all up…I have to wonder if the author wrote this part first and based his whole book on it…
but here goes…this is the next to last page and it’s the 1800’s guy writing in his journal…
“…my recent adventures have made me quite the philosopher, especially at night, when I hear naught but the stream grinding boulders into pebbles through an unhurried eternity. My thoughts flow thus. Scholars discern motions in history & formulate these motions into rules that govern the rises & falls of civilizations. My belief runs contrary, however, To wit: history admits no rules; only outcomes.
What precipitates outcomes? Vicious acts & virtuous acts.
What precipitates acts? Belief-
Belief is both prize & battlefield, within the mind & in the minds mirror, the world. If we believe humanity is a ladder of tribes, a colosseum of confrontation, exploitation & bestiality, such a humanity is surely brought into being, & history’s Horroxes, Boerhaaves & Gooses (characters in the book…jjs) shall prevail. You & I, the moneyed, the privileged, the fortunate, shall not fare so badly in this world, provided our luck holds. What of it if our consciences itch? Why undermine the dominance of our race, our gunships, our heritage & our legacy? Why fight the ‘natural’ (oh, weaselly word!) order of things?
Why? because of this: – one fine day, a purely predatory world shall consume itself. Yes, the devil shall take the hindmost until the foremost is the hindmost. In an individual, selfishness uglifies the soul; for the human species, selfishness is extinction.
Is this entropy written within our nature?
If we believe that humanity may transcend tooth & claw, if we believe diverse races & creeds can share this world as peaceably as the orphans share their candlenut tree, if we believe leaders must be just, violence muzzled, power accountable & the riches of the Earth & it’s oceans shared equitably, such a world will come to pass. I am not deceived. It is the hardest of worlds to make real .Tortuous advances won over generations can be lost by a single stroke of a myopic president’s pen or a vainglorious general’s sword…”
The book wasn’t that great while reading it, but will probably stick with me for a while…Kind of like the movie “Parfum” (Perfume). I kept waiting for something to happen in that movie and after it was over I had to shake my head and think about it for a while…(having not read the book before seeing the movie).
p.s. the guy talking to cats thing was a joke…however, I’m guessing only two people who read this page will get it…
I need a new book to read…I’ll be raiding the book exchange at MacGowans tomorrow for lunch…anyone want to join just show up…
not telling me that Foy Vance is in town might be unforgivable…