Ghostwritten : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A very clever, intricate tale
Review: David Mitchell is another great talent that can be added to the group of first time Authors, who if they can maintain the excellence and originality of their first book, are destined for long, distinguished careers.

You and I have read books that were made of stories that interlocked, each story complete and seamlessly transitioning from one's end to the beginning of the next. There are also great books like, "An Instance of the Fingerpost" by Iain Pears, that have different voices recount the same series of events, as they perceived them. "Ghostwritten" is entirely different, it can only stand in its entirety, and its nine stories in ten parts equal one great tale.

The 9 elements of the book range from the familiar, to what appear to be historically based fiction, and then on to science that I believe to be well into the future. The interesting point here is the style the Author uses to bring these storylines together. It is not a single event viewed from many perspectives. The common cue that ties one part to another can be an event, an object, or something a bit more exotic in a spiritual/life form capacity. Also very well done is the Author's placement of the cues, the points at which he ties one element to another. The stories do not unwind in a linear sequence, nor are the common cues based on a formula, by doing this he keeps the reader's attention to detail, anything less and you will miss some of the fun.

The book is very well done, was a very different read, however it was not vague, nor obscure, or surreal. There are times when a new style of story too often means dense complicated prose that can cause some readers to not try the new Author. This is absolutely not the case with "Ghostwritten". This is different and accessible, and I believe will appeal to a wide range of readers.

There was only one reason I stopped short of 5 stars, and it had nothing to do with the caliber of writing. There was an event that by definition is very disturbing and uncomfortable to read. It was made even more grotesque by the language used. The vile language, in my opinion, was unnecessary. It was used to describe an event that if the reader was not appalled by it taking place, the reader is one who cannot be shocked by anything.

With the one exception a very fine work and debut.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Book Ever Written
Review: OK, maybe it's not the greatest book ever written, but it is pretty amazing, and I sure felt that "greatest book ever written" enthusiasm while reading it. If you are a public reader like I am (commuter trains), then this is the kind of novel that makes you want to shake the person next to you and tell them all about it. It is that good.

Mitchell's tale is woven through a series of vaguely connected tales in that span Asia, Europe and the U.S. in gradual westward movements. Each tale is self contained, but each story also illuminates or expands previous stories until they ultimately intersect at the conclusion. Though I generally prefer novels to short stories, I would have to say that I think the strength of this book is in the individual tales rather the pattern of the whole. His characters are wonderful, and he is marvelously skilled at creating tension, drama and reader interest within the first few paragraphs of each story. It doesn't gel quite as much as I would have like, but I feel like that is more or a quibble than a complaint. Mitchell is an astonishingly gifted writer.

I read a lot of books, but there are very few contemporary novels that I have so enjoyed in recent years. "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby and "A Conspiracy of Paper" by David Liss come to mind. "Ghostwritten" is very different from those books (and they are very different from each other), but like those novels, it is original, daring, entertaining, and very satisfying. I can't recommend this one strongly enough.

Rating:
Summary: Intertwined stories
Review: Stories. At first seemingly disconnected, but slowly clues in one story indicate something else in another. Some of the links seem simple and easy, some are are quite obscure. Some stories are quite tightly linked together. The more you progress through the book these connections become stronger. The first few stories however seem to link only by the simplest of coincidences, those connections become stronger as the stories move on. The multiple links through mutiple stories.

By the end of the book I kept checking back in earlier stories for the events that I had missed.

The author spent time in Hiroshima teaching English, and I think this has had an influence on his writing, both for locations and in the use language. You can read each story by itself, or as a whole. The final one however does seem to bring everything together.