A life changing book, one that can be read over and over. ( )

Half of this book is a fable or a myth, and the other half is analysis.

I didn't really like the fable that much at face value. It was mean. I like stories like the beginning of "The Hobbit," when everyone's sitting around in the shire, drinking tea and tending their gardens. I don't really like stories of pain and adventure as much. So I had some trouble with this story.

But then the analysis is what makes it for me. It's absolutely beautiful! Martin chose to take a look at five layers. It makes you wonder, does every story in the Bible have five layers? How about in Beelzebub's Tales? Why aren't all stories like this? Maybe "Cloud Atlas" is. And if so, why don't we start talking about them!

One interesting point that Martin makes is that Mayan people like exclusively in metaphor. Things don't exist. They relate and interact. It's a little tough for many of us to understand how different that could be. ( )