RaveSlateChernow recognizes he can’t outwrite Grant. Instead, the goal of Grant is to restore Grant’s reputation to where it was 130 years ago. To that end, the 959-page biography is like Grant’s own Civil War campaigns: a massive accumulation of resources, deployed in an inexorable fashion to overwhelm an immoral opposition ... For being a million pages long, this book is brisk and clear, and if it doesn’t spawn a Tony-winning musical—country and soul would be fitting this time, not hip-hop—it won’t be Chernow’s or Grant’s fault ... Chernow’s Grant is as relevant a modern figure as his Hamilton. His Grant is a reminder that the very best American leaders can be, and should be, self-made, hard-working, modest for themselves and ambitious for their nation, future-looking, tolerant, and with a heart for the poor and the least.
David Mitchell
PanSlateYou can tell Mitchell is pursuing Grand Themes because of his aggressive capitalization: The Schism, The Second Mission. But I’m not clever enough to understand exactly what those themes are. I think maybe he wants to get us thinking about the ways that minds can intersect each other, the ways that consciousness can be shared … What goes wrong? In part, The Bone Clocks falls apart in the same way all supernatural and horror stories fall apart: It shows the monster, and once it shows the monster, everything becomes less sinister, and more ludicrous. In Cloud Atlas, the mystery remained off-screen, subtle and spooky...The Bone Clocks is explicit: The various neurological techniques of the immortals are described in precise and tedious detail. Its villains are comic-book-evil.
