Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
This novel is a unique blend of six different stories, each set in a different time and place, spanning from the 19th century South Pacific to a post-apocalyptic future. Each tale is written in a different style, reflecting the time and setting it represents, and they are all connected through shared themes and recurring motifs. The stories are nested within each other, with each interrupted by the next, only to be concluded in the second half of the book. The novel explores themes of predacity, civilization, reincarnation and the eternal recurrence of the same behaviors throughout history.
The 427th greatest book of all time
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Total Points: 806
This book was first published in 2004
33 Lists
- score: 98 -- 100 Best Books of the 21st Century - 2024 (Weight: 173)
- score: 93 -- 222 Best Books of All Time That Deserve a Spot on Your Bookshelf, With Picks from Bestselling Authors and Indie Booksellers - 2024 (Weight: 170)
- score: 75 -- The Ideal Library - 2024 (Weight: 120)
- score: 69 -- The 30 best fiction books of the last 30 years - 2025 (Weight: 130)
- score: 68 -- 100 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2020 (Weight: 142)
- score: 49 -- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature - 2021 (Weight: 105)
- score: 49 -- Readers Pick Their 100 Best Books of the 21st Century - 2024 (Weight: 89)
- score: 44 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 180)
- score: 41 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 140)
- score: 35 -- The Millions: The Best Fiction of the Millennium - 2009 (Weight: 110)
- score: 35 -- The 100 Best Novels Of All Time (Runners-Up) - 2026 (Weight: 60)
- score: 32 -- Honorable Mention - The 25 Masterpieces of World Literature That Will Define the 21st Century (25-250) - 2025 (Weight: 60)
- score: 31 -- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition - 2011 (Weight: 100)
- score: 24 -- Truelit's 100 Best Books of the Quarter Century - 2024 (Weight: 40)
- score: 14 -- Books of the Decade - 2009 (Weight: 48)
- score: 10 -- Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books - 2011 (Weight: 33)
- score: 5 -- Readers’ Top 100 Novels Of All Time - 2026 (Weight: 10)
- score: 5 -- Bill Gate's Book Recommendations - 2024 (Weight: 10)
- score: 4 -- Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman's Book Choices from "The Writer's Library" - 2020 (Weight: 10)
- score: 3 -- The 50 Best Sci-Fi Books for Every Kind of Reader - 2024 (Weight: 6)
- score: 1 -- Best Fiction Books of the 21st Century (So Far) - 2025 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 25 Books to Read Before you Die: 21st Century - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 125 Books We Love for Adults - 2020 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 500 Must Read Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Australia’s Radio National top 100 books of the 21st century - 2025 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 70 Classic Booker Prize-Nominated Novels, Recommended by our Readers - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 21 Books From the 21st Century Every Man Should Read - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Best Books of the Decade(2000) - 2009 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The New Classics - 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008 - 2008 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 best books of the 21st century - 2019 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- A Century of Reading - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)