I thought Ewing's explanation about the first in line becoming the last as talking more about the state of the present world rather than the far future, i.e. if you ignore the worst of the world because it has nothing to do with you, eventually the misery will spread until it catches up to you anyway.

I like to wonder about it to. From the Sloosha quote, it seems like the title is defining the book as the cloud atlas itself, a fixed record of a changing soul as it passes through different lifetimes.

Frobisher's story always felt like the odd one out to me to a certain extent. His problems are different from the evil person/evil social forces that all the other protagonists face, and the story in general doesn't seem to have the same progression that the others do.

First time around I kind of assumed the characters were reincarnating; but the second and third readings made me prefer a less literal connection for some reason. I think it's because the book's immense scope and small and big tragedies make feel-good stuff like souls and destiny seem silly. You're reading about…

Zachry doesn't have the birthmark either - his friend the researcher (can't remember her name) has it instead.

It's also a demonstration of how completely corporations have filled people's minds.

"Ewing fails at his goal, or maybe he makes his son a better man, but the rest of the world does not. And even after humanity falls, it's still ravenous for more. The central thematic narrative of Cloud Atlas is about how humanity can march away from slavery, but always, ultimately, end up back at slavery."

@Miller, it's worth remembering that the over-the-top ending is written by Adam Ewing, who's supposed to be a very naive, sheltered and idealistic guy. The "Why can't we all get along?" fits him pretty well.

The mimicking of other styles is a something I almost understand. Mitchell must have known that the book would get a lot of criticism for seeming like an imitation, but I don't think he intended for it to get compared to the original works (like Riddley Walker).

An Orison of Sonmi-451 is my absolute favorite section. After that I like the last half of the Adam Ewing section (I agree that the first half can be kind of a slog, especially if you're reading for the first time), and Robert Frobisher's sad little story. I used to dislike Sloosha's Crossin', but it's won me over…

I'll admit my knowledge is limited to occasional Lost-related clips of Attack of the Show, but she seems to at least approach pop-culture stuff with good humor and I can't really blame her if she's used it to stand out from the crowd of tv hosts.

They do stay together, don't they? I remember a final chapter or afterword where Natasha is a totally contented, complacent wife and mother.

I think it would be wonderful if all the people who were pains in the ass on the island had to spend some time in that kind of afterlife. Just for a while.

He fired them, they moved into the tiny storefront and Cordelia's apartment as I remember. I just like the atmosphere of struggling to get cases and money, rather than having everything set and basically working for fun.

I think watching the Angel Investigations team of Cordelia, Gunn and Wesley bumble around redeems the episodes. I was always a little sad when they rejoined Angel and moved back into the luxurious hotel.

The cascade toward the end in the second half is what catapulted the book to the top of my list of beloved books; and knowing the outcomes somehow makes the first half much easier on re-reading.

The compass, beyond a doubt. Any of the books would be neat, but I'm sure there would be a lot of buyer's remorse later on for those.

I can sympathize with your girlfriend, I gave up on the Sopranos for the same reason. I just can't stand watching awful, borderline-evil people with few or no redeeming qualities as main characters.

I don't know if watching a film for a good-looking actor counts against your taste. A lot of stupid action flicks are made enjoyable by having a shirtless handsome man running around as the main character.

A few years ago I spent Christmas at my parents' house, along with my sister and brother-in-law, and ended up watching an episode of Two and a Half Men. Everyone in the family except me apparently loves the show. Nothing like a little alienation to make the holidays bright.