But then he’ll sneak into our houses at night and wreck up the place! Aaa-Rrrooo!!

That’s an interesting duo. May I ask why Nixon?

I’d bet my life’s blood they’re out there. But we won’t let them speak because if they’re willing to speak the truth it will certainly offend someone and then everyone would get up in arms and cancel them.

Hmm, I’d have to go back and check again but I definitely got the feeling that there was some kind of reincarnation/rebirth. Maybe it was just kindred spirits.

Yay! Let me know what you think.

That sounds awesome! I want to go!

Omg! I have that book! I love it! But I’ve never heard anyone else reference it. That’s awesome!

If you can find a copy, you should check out The Incarnations by Sue Barker. It has a similar feel to Mitchell, especially Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas. It’s a bit darker, more gruesome though.

Wait, “Wild Swans” or “Black Swan Green”?

I’d like to plot all his novels from before he had his son and after and see if I can recognize any changes in his writing. Like Utopia seems so different from his other stuff (although maybe it’s more along the ones I haven’t read yet), I wonder if becoming a dad, especially to a special needs boy, made him want to write something more hopeful (? I’m not sure if that’s the right word, but less dark).

If you think you’d be interested, check out the book The Incarnations by Sue Barker. I had just finished that book and was looking for something similar when A Tale for the time being was recommended.

It’s got the feel of David Mitchell’s books (like Cloud Atlas), and souls mysteriously linked through time. I like A Tale better, but I really enjoyed this book too.

Omg!! I saw your title and did a little happy dance in my kitchen that was ridiculous given my age. That was the first book of hers I read and I fell absolutely in love. It was so gorgeously done and one where I really didn’t predict where things were going, and she just blew me away.

I’ve read two of her other books, All Over Creation, and A Book of Form and Emptiness. Hi really enjoyed those as well. I don’t think either was quite the pinnacle that A Tale was, but still so damn good.

I’m waiting on reading “My Year of Meats” because I feel like it would turn me vegetarian, and trying to cook dinners all my picky family will eat is hard enough.

I loved Ghostwritten!! I thought it better than Cloud Atlas, but it’s hard to say exactly why. I think because Ghostwritten has a more vague concept at first, and it’s only at the end that you really understand these weren’t all just various tales about mostly unconnected people and places, but they were linked together to culminate in that final tale which is foreboding (to me), but a bit open ended.

By having the common narrator in Cloud Atlas, I felt it gave that “Aha!” moment away. But maybe that’s because I’d already read Ghostwritten and I’d have felt differently if I read CA first.

I also loved The Bone Clocks, and then Slade House. I found Slade House to be more sinister and frightening than Bone Clocks, which is odd since >! The villains in BC could move around while the Slade House had to lure people to come into the house !<

Utopia was entertaining, but felt very different from the others, but I haven’t yet read “The Thousand Summers…”, Black Swan Green, or Number9Dream.

Why would you say Ghostwritten was your favorite? Which was your least?

Where is this Holy Grail of bookstores?