Cloud Atlas

Narrator Timothy Cavendish describes a time a few summers ago when he was in his sixties and strolling through London. He ran into three teenagers and yelled at them for littering. They beat him up. When he retells the story to people, he exaggerates to say his attackers were actually five Nazis.

Timothy says he got distracted and actually intended to start his story with Dermot “Duster” Hoggins. At the start of the story, Timothy is Dermot’s editor. Timothy is at a bar the night before a big literary prize gets announced with some other high-profile people connected to the publishing industry. Suddenly, Dermot makes an unexpected appearance at the bar. No one knows who invited him, and although some blame Timothy, he insists it wasn’t him.

Dermot, who will later become famous for a book called Knuckle Sandwich, wants to talk to Timothy, who runs Cavendish Publishing, about the publicity campaign for his upcoming boo. He feels that Timothy isn’t doing enough to promote his book. Timothy assures him that while his resources are limited, he’s supporting Dermot as much as he can.

Still at the bar for the literary event, Dermot is enraged when he sees a man named Felix Finch. Suddenly Dermot clangs some trays together to give an award. He says he presents Finch with an “Award for Most Eminent Literary Critic.” People don’t realize Dermot is sarcastic, and even Finch seems to appreciate the attention. But when Finch and Dermot talk and things get heated, Dermot physically attacks the short-statured literary critic, grabbing him by the jacket and throwing him off the roof. Finch dies, twelve floors down. Timothy immediately sees the silver lining: Dermot is about to become a famous murderer, and Cavendish Publishing still has several unsold copies of Knuckle Sandwich.

Timothy hates flashbacks and other flourishes of postmodern literature, but he refuses to apologize for how he jumps around in time in his own story. He says that shortly after Dermot threw Finch off the roof, Knuckle Sandwich climbed to the top of the bestseller charts. Finch’s reputation also climbs, as people forget how rude he used to be. An ongoing trial gets extensive media coverage. Over four months, Knuckle Sandwich sells 90,000 copies, and Cavendish Publishing, previously a vanity publisher, becomes a success story. Timothy hints that he made so much money that he had a hard time keeping his financial records straight.

Timothy tries to rebrand his publishing house as a home for serious works, printing new business cards. But his success also brings debt collectors. One day, three burly intruders break into Timothy’s home. Timothy realizes that they are Dermot’s three brothers. One of the brothers says Dermot is getting frustrated with Timothy. Timothy tries to explain that, per the contract Dermot signed, Timothy technically owns the copyright to Knuckle Sandwich. But Dermot’s brothers say things have changed, and they’ll need 50,000 pounds by three o’clock the next day.

Timothy goes to his publishing office and tries to come up with the 50,000 pounds. His secretary tells him that all his cash is already tied up paying off his other debts. Timothy goes back to his office with a whiskey. On his desk are several junk letters, along as a new manuscript called Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery. He calls some people to ask for money and is unsuccessful. Eventually, he leaves the office, telling his secretary he’s going to meet the one person in the world who will always believe in him.

Denholme, Timothy’s brother, doesn’t seem happy to see him. He doesn’t believe Timothy’s claim that gangsters want 60,000 pounds from him. Denholme protests that his own bank has crashed. He says Timothy’s only option is to hide, ideally far away from London—he can’t help Timothy with money, but he might be able to help with a place to stay.

Timothy grudgingly goes to King’s Cross Station and books a ticket to Hull, all the while fighting with other people in line. He boards the train. Shortly after Essex, the train makes an unscheduled stop. Frustrated by the delay, Timothy takes the opportunity to read Half-Lives, finding it entertaining enough. Another announcement informs the passengers that  the next leg of the train is cancelled, and they’ll have to make alternative travel arrangements.

Timothy gets off the train, looking at all the suburban homes in the town. He gets the idea of trying to find someone he used to know named Ursula who lives in the area. He gets to the house and sees a girl playing outside, then looks over and sees that Ursula is her grandmother; Ursula looks almost exactly the same, despite all the years that have passed.

Suddenly, a boy asks Timothy what he’s doing, startling him. Timothy explains he’s an old friend of Ursula’s. The boy threatens to call the police, but Timothy says he’s the Ghost of Christmas Present and he will send the Ghost of Christmas Future to get the boy and his family if he does anything. And so, the boy lets Timothy go.

Timothy goes to a café and gets drunk while waiting for the next train. He makes it to Cambridge and finds a shabby hotel for travelers. He imagines Dermot’s brothers are probably robbing his house and not finding much to take. He reads a little more of Half-Lives and falls asleep in the middle. The next day, he struggles and fails to get a refund for the cancelled part of his train ticket.

Timothy gets back on the train. It makes another unscheduled stop. Later, a brake issue at a rural station means the rest of the trip gets cancelled. But after all these setbacks, Timothy finally makes it to Hull, where an Arabic man greets him and takes him in a taxi. Later, as Timothy goes to leave the taxi, he realizes he’s missing his wallet, so he pays the man with his leftover pocket change. At last, Timothy gets to Aurora House, where Denholme has sent him. He’s happy to be safe—and that his brother is paying for his lodging.

The next morning, Timothy finds a woman looking through his things and scolds her. Her name is Mrs. Noakes, and she scolds him back for his bad language. She slaps Timothy and says he’d better learn not to go against her. Timothy is shocked at the way she treats him, but she shows no remorse. At breakfast, Timothy finally learns the problem: Aurora House is a nursing home for the elderly.

Timothy protests to Mrs. Judd, a woman at reception, that he doesn’t belong at Aurora house. But he’s informed that he already signed a custody document the previous night (which he thought was a hotel registry). Timothy wants to speak with management, but in fact, that’s Nurse Noakes. Timothy keeps complaining that she’s holding him illegally, but Mrs. Judd doesn’t budge.

Timothy goes back to his room, plotting vengeance. Someone locks the door behind him. Around 11 a.m., the door unlocks the man and woman in charge of the residents’ committee arrive. They warn Timothy that if he keeps acting up, they’ll have to medicate him. They try to convince him to make the best of his time at Aurora House.

Later that day at Aurora House, Timothy has a bland lunch. He realizes that he won’t get out of his situation by yelling, so maybe he should take some tricks from Knuckle Sandwich and learn how to be more cunning. But just as he’s scheming, he suddenly feels like fireworks are going off in his skull.