I have to admit I almost quit this book early on. I had a lot of trouble getting into the story/ies. I'm glad I stuck with it since it is unlike anything else I've ever read. My first introduction to David Mitchell's work was Black Swan Green. This novel is nothing like that one. There are six different stories in six different periods of history including a dystopian future. The stories appear disconnected but a theme eventually emerges as the reader passes through time, first forward, then backward to an ending that takes place in the past where the book began. During the temporal journeys we travel from Polynesia to Europe, California, England, the Far East, Hawaii and back again. The main characters include a government clerk, a composer, a journalist, a publisher, a clone/slave/revolutionary, and a Pacific islander. These diverse characters face conflicts and dangers fitting their place and time. And then there is the birthmark that some of the characters share.... If you can stick with it this one is well worth the time. P.S. I haven't seen the movie.
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