"Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell

This was the last book I read in 2014. In fact, I finished it on December 31st! This book is a hurricane: it'll blow you away. Mitchell takes his readers on a journey through time and space as he follows six reincarnations of the same soul. So in effect, there are six separate stories, each one fascinating in its own way. We begin in 1800s, move on to 1930s, 1970s, early 2000s, and then go deep into the future for two more installments. Each story is interrupted mid-way and the next one begins until we get to the sixth one. We then journey back through time picking up each story line where it left off.

A birthmark in a shape of a comet is the identifying feature of the main protagonist as he/she goes through lifetimes. The structure of the book is unlike anything I've read before. Each reincarnated individual ends up reading or watching the story about the life of his/her previous reincarnation. Once I finished the book, I found myself wanting to go back and re-read it so I can take note of various minute details that you can trace through stories and which were hard to keep track of when I was reading the book originally. Mitchell posits that not only your actions and character in this life influence your next reincarnation, but also what you think about the future of the human race inevitably comes true.

There is also a movie based on this book, however, once I read the synopsis of the plot I realized they changed it quite a bit and lost interest in watching it. It appears the movie follows reincarnations of six different souls rather than one, who end up crossing paths in each lifetime. I cannot say anything else about the film since I have not watched it. However, the book is truly excellent. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for something fresh and different to read.