The Cloud Atlas

So, NaNoWriMo is kicking my butt. I’m running about 3,000 words behind, but I’m hoping to make that up this weekend in Mary Robinette Kowal’s short story intensive. It’s going to be very intense, as promised. We’ll be in ‘class’ or writing/critiquing pretty much all weekend. I’m excited, but trepedatious.

Because of all the work on NaNo, this is going to be a pretty short blog post. I’d like to talk about The Cloud Atlas by Liam Calanan. This is NOT Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, which was made into a movie. br />
. The Cloud Atlas is about Louis Belk, who was a soldier during World War II, assigned to deal with Japanese balloon bombs in Alaska. These bombs were a real thing and were constructed of extraordinarily large rice paper balloons that supported the bombs on their journey across the pacific
The novel alternates between Louis’s experiences during the war and him later in life as an elderly priest in Alaska. The novel is beautiful, but as bleak as the tundra it is set in. Louis is sympathetic, but as a naive young soldier and an unconventional priest. It reminded me of Wind, Sand, Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery in its use of language. I haven’t read the author’s other book, All Saints, but one of my co-workers liked it very much. It sounds a little darker than I usually like though.
(I’m writing this on my tablet, so, I’m sorry it’s not as link and photo heavy as my usual posts.)