This best-selling and widely acclaimed sixth novel by David Mitchell is indeed an entertaining tour de force of imagination, of genre blending and innovation, of vivid, hyper-articulate, unforgettable characters both living and not exactly (some recurring from Mitchell’s earlier works), and of lovely, often enthralling language—but something more lingers months after first reading. The long arc of this compelling story deepens some of Mitchell’s recurring themes, including the heartbreaking certainties of luck and time running out, and the inevitable outcomes of choices guilt-ridden and guilt-free alike, personal and political—whether to create life and love, or to wage war, choose personal gain, and destroy it all. This is a book for our time, and it is no accident that it is also a very beautiful object, by the acclaimed book designer Peter Mendelsund (see the monographs on his book designs in the art section and behind the cash registers).