Title: The Bone Clocks
Author:David Mitchell
Genre: Science Fiction
Locations: UK, Australia, New York

I decided to read The Bone Clocks after attending a reading of Slade House by the author himself at the 92nd St Y Lectures & Readings in NYC. (By the way, the 92nd St Y readings are amazing and you should definitely take the time to attend one.) David's presence, eloquence and imagination were captivating and I knew immediately that I needed to read one of his books.

As David stepped out on to the stage I was skeptical of his genius due to the his choice in shoes and his somewhat awkward gate. But once he opened his mouth and began to answer questions, I was mesmerized. Each answer was a story in and of itself and took you on a journey no matter how short or long it was. His reading of Slade House was just as remarkable and I was itching to get out of my seat to buy one of his books.

I left the reading with The Bone Clocks in hand and an overwhelming excitement to get to know David Mitchell's twisted yet sophisticated imagination. As soon as I started to read however, I was overcome with the knowledge that I may not be smart enough to actually grasp everything that will come to fruition. David's vocabulary and story telling were so high level that I thought I had undertaken something I was not ready for. But I pushed on and realized that it wasn't my intelligence that was put to the test it was my reading habits. I have been so used to reading books quickly, feeling that not all words are important to the overall meaning of a sentence. However, with The Bone Clocks, each word and each punctuation was of great importance to not only the meaning of the sentence but to the meaning of the whole novel.

The Bone Clocks tells the story of 5 lives woven together by a world of both benevolent and evil immortals and the woman who unknowingly finds herself at the center of each life. The novel introduces as multitude of characters and personalities that are hard to remember but need to be recalled as you keep turning the pages. At first I found the many stories and characters frustrating but when I came to the end I realized how rich this story was because of its many levels.

This is a challenging yet rewarding novel and its good for any reader who needs to be reminded that he or she should never skip a word or sentence just for the sake of finishing a book quicker.