Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
is simply one of the most amazing books I've ever read. I was half way through it whilst relaxing in the bath a few years back when I accidentally dropped it in the water. A measure of how much I must have been enjoying it is that I got out of the bath, dried off, got dressed, drove to the nearest bookshop, bought another copy, then refreshed the bath water and got back in to continue. Sadly, this is true.
His others are fantastic too: number9dream, Black Swan Green, Ghostwritten, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. Here to help.
I've also recently read all of the "Wallander" novels by Henning Mankell. If gloomy Swedish police procedurals float your boat you can't go wrong.
( BobbyParadise, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 21:27, 7 replies)

If
you are enjoying Scandinavian crime fiction (far better than most of our own) see if you can find any Arnaldur Indridason - Icelandic stuff, which is very interesting in its own way.
(cypherspace is not a toaster, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 22:16, closed)

YES!
and once more, YES!
(Raol Duke, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 23:42, closed)

I see they are making it into a movie
with a big star cast.
I wonder if they will do it justice.
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 23:53, closed)

I have just ordered it.
There, in what may be a unique event, QOTW has been a force for good in the world.
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 0:05, closed)

Totally this.
He's a fucking great author IMO, and this is my favourite of his (though it was the first I read, so maybe that's why). Wonderfully written, intelligent interweaving plots and fantastic characters. With cloud Atlas, I would say I know a lot of people that have given up in the first chapter due to the writing style and language. I struggled with it myself but I was more than pleased that I persevered. If you're finding it difficult to get into then trust me, it changes and I hope you will be happy you stuck with it.
(bobbycutters is a bit ginger, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 3:03, closed)

I've started it and given up after 40 odd pages about 4 times.
Not because I didn't like it, just that I kept misplacing it, finding it, started reading again then lost it and the cycle continued like that.
I now have a mental block and just can't bring myself to pick it up again.
( monkeyboyalpha jumping on the bandwagon since, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 10:45, closed)

Hated it
Well, maybe that's a little too strong. I loved "Black Swan Green", liked a fair bit of "Ghostwritten", and adored "Number9dream", but "Cloud Atlas" took me about 5 attempts to get into and when I eventually finished it it frankly wasn't worth the effort. I enjoyed maybe two of the storylines - the one about the journalist and one of the others - but really despised the central one ("Sloosha's Crossing" or something like that) and the one that wrapped around it ("Omni 5" or suchlike). Hugely overrated.

Oh yes, and "Jacob de Zoet" was complete rubbish too, in my opinion at least, but we can't all like the same things, eh?
(nasalhair The Twix guy!, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 12:17, closed)