Chapter 1, "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing" Summary

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is a set of six interconnected tales that span generations and continents to illustrate the basic human condition. The novel begins and returns at the end to the mid-nineteenth century, giving the reader a warning glimpse at the future of modern society along the journey.

The first chapter begins as Adam Ewing is writing in his journal about his stay on the Chatham Islands. He is a San Francisco-based attorney chasing down a beneficiary of a will in the South Pacific. He finds himself on the remote Polynesian Islands while his ship, "The Prophetess" makes repairs. It is here that he meets an English doctor, Dr. Henry Goose, on the island beach, sifting the sand for human teeth discarded by the resident cannibals. Dr...