Two book recommendations

Another couple of book recommendations.

First, both Zoe and I (independently) read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and liked it a lot.

It's a novel stretching over a thousand years or so - it's hard to tell, starting a few hundred years ago and going into the distant future. I wouldn't call it science fiction, despite that. It's not easily classifiable but it is fascinating and wonderfully written. It consists of a number of linked stories but the links aren't as straightforward as they initially seem, even once you think about it for a while. The author does many things in this book - he subverts narrative, history, the idea of progress. And it's about real people. There are many satisfactions to this book and I really enjoyed it.

Second, I bought this book for Gavin at Christmas and he left it for me to read - A Voyage for Madmen. If you enjoy adventure books (like The Worst Journey in the World), you'll love this. It's the story of the first round the world solo non-stop yacht race. It has horrible catastrophes at sea, cheating, dispair, depression, death, and madness. Can't be beat.


Tim