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Cloud Atlas adaptations: books & films
Every version of Cloud Atlas — the books & films, compared across media.
David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas weaves six nested stories across centuries — from a 19th-century Pacific voyage to a post-apocalyptic future — tracing how individual choices ripple through time to shape lives far removed from their own. The 2012 film adaptation carries the same premise to the screen, telling the story in a different form. Together they offer two ways into the same work.
Cloud Atlas films
Cloud Atlas books
Frequently asked
Is Cloud Atlas based on a book?
Yes. Cloud Atlas (2012) is adapted from the novel Cloud Atlas (2004) by David Mitchell, a Booker Prize nominee recognized in Granta's "Best of Young British Novelists 2003" issue.
How many versions of Cloud Atlas are there?
There are two versions covered here: David Mitchell's 2004 novel Cloud Atlas and the 2012 film adaptation Cloud Atlas, which translates the book's nested, multi-era stories to the screen.
Which Cloud Atlas version should I start with?
Either works as an entry point. The 2012 film Cloud Atlas offers an immediate visual overview of the six interlocking stories, while the 2004 novel Cloud Atlas is the original source and goes deeper into each narrative.