"Souls cross ages like clouds cross skies, an' tho' a cloud's shape nor hue size don't stay the same, it's still a could an' so is a soul. Who can say where the cloud's blowed from or who the soul'll be 'morrow? Only Sonmi the east an' the west an' the compass an' the atlas, yay, only the atlas o'clouds."

This remarkable novel is a combination of six very different stories that cover a vast period of time. Its theme of migratory souls and the exploration of what it means to be human and the quest to live a meaningful life make it both compelling and serious. However, there is also comedy. The earlier letters from Robert Frobisher are hilarious, as is the story of Timothy Cavendish.

I highly recommend this book.