Recently I finished reading Slade House by David Mitchell, and while reading the book it reminded me of the author’s fondness for introducing and connecting characters and themes across all his books. Since Slade House was a relatively short read I jumped right into The Bone Clocks next, which was a much longer reading experience. Since they are closely related, I’ll write about them both here.
I’ve read a couple other David Mitchell books: Cloud Atlas, Utopia Avenue, and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. Even reading only two of those books will start to bring what seem to be coincidences into focus, and after finishing Utopia Avenue last year and meeting some of the same characters in different ways I became more curious about the interconnected world that the author has been building.
Slade House and The Bone Clocks focus on a more science fiction kind of story, with The Bone Clocks answering a lot of the questions that come up after reading the other books. The way all of these books are written means that if you pick up the connections and want to read more you are welcome to it, but it isn’t necessary to enjoy the book you have in your hands.
Slade House is almost like a ghost story you’d tell around a campfire. I liked the characters and the back story that comes with each one. Even when you are suspecting a trick – and the author all but tells you that one is coming – you are still surprised thanks to some creative revelations. I was almost disappointed it ended as soon as it did.
So while Slade House served as a sort of appetizer course, reading The Bone Clocks became a very satisfying main dish. The book has many of the themes I like in fiction: epic timelines, science fiction elements, clever writing, villains that you can’t help liking and international travel and culture woven thoroughly into the story. This book tells a detailed interconnected story and it was rewarding to reach the end and the very satisfying conclusion.
The author is extremely talented in writing from various character viewpoints. If I didn’t like one character it wouldn’t be long before another comes up. Mitchell’s diversity and depth of knowledge is truly impressive. The writing process and research for books like this must be incredibly time-consuming.
Because it is such a long book there is plenty of space for social commentary, and some of it seemed a little unnecessary for the story, but certainly the breadth of material more than made up for some slower parts. In the end the story to me was about what mortality means – and how even this basic term is open to some interpretation given the right circumstances.
As I said before, this was a very satisfying read, and I’m a little concerned that the next book I read will suffer from being cast in the shadow of The Bone Clocks. Perhaps I’ve found a way around that by choosing a book translated by David Mitchell and his wife K.A. Yoshida – it is The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida.
