David Mitchell’s debut novel connects nine disparate characters across the globe through a series of interlocking narratives. The story begins with a cult member hiding in Okinawa after a nerve gas attack in Tokyo and moves through a jazz record shop in Tokyo, a financial trader in Hong Kong, and an art thief in the Hermitage Museum. Other segments follow a veteran of the Cultural Revolution in China, a ghostwriter in London, and a non-corporeal entity traversing memories in Mongolia. These separate lives are tethered by a recurring "non-quantum" intelligence that migrates between hosts and a chaotic global satellite system that dictates the final movements of the plot.
Readers who enjoy complex puzzles and non-linear storytelling turn to this book to see how individual actions trigger unintended consequences thousands of miles away. It appeals to those interested in the friction between ancient traditions and modern technological acceleration. The reader walks away with a map of human interconnectedness, observing how a single phone call or a chance encounter in a subway station can alter the trajectory of a stranger’s life. It provides a technical exercise in shifting perspectives, showing how global events emerge from small, private coincidences.
Deep, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1999
- Language
- EN
