The Bone Clocks

At so many points along the way, I thought I knew exactly what David Mitchell was up to. I thought I had a pretty good grasp on what kind of novel this was. As it turns out, I didn't.

This is one of those works that was difficult for me to give a rating to and even categorize. Mitchell plays subtly with different prose styles, voices, and pacing, among other things. I was blown away by his ability to completely inhabit the voice and mind of his characters (which were numerous). Each section, honestly, could have stood by itself as a novella.

My one major complaint, however, is just that. Many times throughout reading I actually felt like I could stop. Sometimes I wasn't even sure why I should continue. For most of the book, it felt like the threads that connected these stories were so thin that I didn't actually care about them at all. After the big reveal at the end, I did feel-at last!- a sense of fulfillment but even this was somewhat dulled by the long final section.