David Mitchell
Ghostwritten
Ghostwritten is an impressive novel, with an interesting style. Composed of ten parts which are short stories in themselves, they connect into a broader narrative to create one overarching story.
The parts overlap in a seemingly coincidental manner as characters from different stories encounter each other unknowingly, or objects drift into the world of another. Most of the stories are based in different locations around the world as you travel along into each of the character’s intimate lives. As you read you wonder what it could all mean and as you spot more connections it is still difficult to decipher where it could lead you.
‘The human world is made of stories, not people. The people the stories use to tell themselves are not to be blamed.’
It is an enchanting read but at the same time it feels very human, relating to it in a way that seems natural. It’s expansive, the way it wanders on the edges of reality, chance and history. It sort of gives you an underlying feeling of being connected to something, almost as if you’re walking past these events, merely as a passerby, aware of the endless intricacies surrounding you.
This is a book you just need to read to fully understand. Summarising the story doesn’t do it justice. The threads are there, you’ve just got to find them.
‘Sometimes language can't even read the music of meaning.’
The parts overlap in a seemingly coincidental manner as characters from different stories encounter each other unknowingly, or objects drift into the world of another. Most of the stories are based in different locations around the world as you travel along into each of the character’s intimate lives. As you read you wonder what it could all mean and as you spot more connections it is still difficult to decipher where it could lead you.
‘The human world is made of stories, not people. The people the stories use to tell themselves are not to be blamed.’
It is an enchanting read but at the same time it feels very human, relating to it in a way that seems natural. It’s expansive, the way it wanders on the edges of reality, chance and history. It sort of gives you an underlying feeling of being connected to something, almost as if you’re walking past these events, merely as a passerby, aware of the endless intricacies surrounding you.
This is a book you just need to read to fully understand. Summarising the story doesn’t do it justice. The threads are there, you’ve just got to find them.