Literary Lunacy

In 2012 alone I have read:

Villette: Charlotte Bronte

Far from the Madding Crowd: Thomas Hardy

The Return of the Native: Thomas Hardy

Tess of the D'Urdervilles: Thomas Hardy

Desperate Remedies: Thomas Hardy

Jude the Obscure: Thomas Hardy

Anne of Green Gables: L.M. Montgomery

The Thirteenth Tale: Diane Setterfield

Fifity Shades Series: E.L. James

The Wind Through the Kehole: Stephen King

House of Leaves: Mark Z. Danielewski

and my latest literary endeavour...

Cloud Atlas: David Mitchell

This week I finished 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell. I can't say enough about this book. It consists of 6 stories that start in the 19th century Pacific Northwest seas and ends up in a post-apocalyptic Hawaiian tribal wasteland. The 6 stories have a 1-2-3-4-5 *6* 5-4-3-2-1 Sequence where the first 6 stories end mid-way through with the 6th story (Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After) becoming a full story median that locks the stories in place with correlations and deja vu similarities when they pick up the second time through.

The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing
Pacific Ocean, circa 1850. Adam Ewing

Letters from Zedelghem
Zedelgem, Belgium, 1931. Robert Frobisher

Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery
Buenas Yerbas, California, 1975. Luisa Rey

The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish
United Kingdom, early 21st century. Timothy Cavendish,

An Orison of Sonmi~451
Nea So Copros (Korea), dystopian near future. Sonmi~451

Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After
Hawaii, post-apocalyptic distant future. Zachry

This novel was definitely what I needed after a year long delve into 19th century british literature. David Mitchell's style is exacting and precise and every word kind of melts into your subconscious. The book as a whole has stayed with me this week.

The next David Mitchell book I plan to read is definitely Ghostwritten. But I currently have 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet' checked out from the library.

I got sidetracked with 'Shirley' by Charlotte Bronte, which I have become entranced with after 50 pages. I've missed Bronte's words and it's so refreshing to come back to her voice and familiar style.