Ghostwritten was both Mitchell's first book and the first of his that I read: I picked it up in a youth hostel and was so captivated by it that I read all night and stole the book when I left. So while you who read it after Cloud Atlas see it is a dry run, I see Cloud Atlas as more technically advanced (obviously, with its nested narratives and created dialects) but not actually making much progress when it comes to them or in terms of being an enjoyable novel. I have yet to read Black Swan Green but am glad at the thought that he is branching out in a different direction.

My bookclub read Cloud Atlas and was, on the whole, suitably impressed. One or two have gone back to read Ghostwritten and been even more so.