''Ghostwritten'' is the first novel published by English author David Mitchell. Published in 1999, it won the

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama) by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kin ...

and was widely acclaimed. The story takes place mainly around East Asia, but also moves through Russia, Britain, the US and Ireland. It is written episodically; each chapter details a different story and central character, although they are all interlinked through seemingly coincidental events. Many of the themes from ''Ghostwritten'' continue in Mitchell's subsequent novels, ''

number9dream ''number9dream'' is the second novel by English author David Mitchell. Set in Japan, the 2001 novel narrates 19-year-old Eiji Miyake's search for his father, whom he has never met. Told in the first person by Eiji, it is a coming of age and pe ...

'' and ''

Cloud Atlas A cloud atlas is a pictorial key (or an atlas) to the nomenclature of clouds. Early cloud atlases were an important element in the training of meteorologists and in weather forecasting, and the author of a 1923 atlas stated that "increasing use ...

'', and a character later appears in '' The Bone Clocks.'' ''Ghostwritten'' is the product of a number of influences, particularly from East Asian culture and superstition, as well as real events remodelled for plot purposes (e.g. the

sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway The was a chemical domestic terrorist attack perpetrated on 20 March 1995, in Tokyo, Japan, by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult. In five coordinated attacks, the perpetrators released sarin on three lines of the Tokyo Metro (then ''Teito Rapi ...

). There are also hints and references to other works, most prominently from

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

and the

Three Laws of Robotics The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or Asimov's Laws) are a set of rules devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov, which were to be followed by robots in several of his stories. The rules were introduced in his 194 ...

towards the end of the book, as well as ''

Wild Swans ''Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China'' is a family history that spans a century, recounting the lives of three female generations in China, by Chinese writer Jung Chang. First published in 1991, ''Wild Swans'' contains the biographies of her m ...

'' by

Jung Chang Jung Chang (, ; born 25 March 1952) is a Chinese-born British author. She is best known for her family autobiography ''Wild Swans'', selling over 10 million copies worldwide but Censorship in China, banned in the China, People's Republic of Ch ...

and '' The Music of Chance'' by

Paul Auster Paul Benjamin Auster (February 3, 1947 – April 30, 2024) was an American writer, novelist, memoirist, poet, and filmmaker. His notable works include '' The New York Trilogy'' (1987), '' Moon Palace'' (1989), '' The Music of Chance'' (1990), ' ...

Plot

The novel is written in a series of changing first-person perspectives. The main characters, though strangers to one another, become connected through their actions and relationships. This first chapter follows Quasar, a member of a millenarianist

doomsday cult A doomsday cult is a cult that believes in apocalypticism and millenarianism, including both those that predict disaster and those that attempt to destroy the entire universe. Sociologist John Lofland coined the term ''doomsday cult'' in his 19 ...

, attempting to evade capture in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

after releasing

nerve agent Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemistry, organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (ACh ...

s into a

Tokyo subway Two major operate in Tokyo: the Tokyo Metro and the Toei Subway. Most of the network is located in the Special wards of Tokyo, 23 special wards, with portions extending into Chiba Prefecture, Chiba and Saitama Prefecture, Saitama Prefectures. ...

train. His efforts to remain reclusive are hampered by the friendliness of the town's other inhabitants. The next chapter focuses on Satoru, a young Filipino-Japanese

record shop A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of t ...

worker in downtown Tokyo with a deep love for

jazz music Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, hymns, m ...

. Satoru struggles to balance his complicated family life as an orphan, musical ambitions, societal pressure to begin a career, and his infatuation with Tomoyo, a new customer in the shop. In the third chapter, Neal Brose, an

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

lawyer in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, is asked to manage a secret bank account. A chance meeting with Satoru and Tomoyo leads Brose to meditate on the end of his own marriage. Following this and a police investigation into the bank account, Brose suffers a breakdown. He dies in

diabetic shock Diabetic coma is a life-threatening but reversible form of coma found in people with diabetes mellitus. Three different types of diabetic coma are identified: #Severe low blood sugar in a diabetic person #Diabetic ketoacidosis (usually type 1 ...

while climbing a hill towards the Tian Tan Buddha. The fourth chapter centers on a Chinese woman and her tea shack on

Mount Emei Mount Emei (; zh, c=峨眉山, p=Éméi shān, O2-mei2 shan1), alternatively Mount Omei, is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mount Emei sits at the western rim of th ...

. Throughout her life, she and the shack encounter Chinese warlords, Japanese soldiers,

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

reformists Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political establishment , political or religion , religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. ...

, and a tree she believes can speak to her. After finally visiting a Buddhist monastery at the mountain's peak, she dies peacefully at the tea shack. Next, the novel follows a disembodied spirit. The " noncorpum" survives by transmigrating between the bodies of living human hosts. Though unaware of their true origins, they follow a lead by transmigrating through rural Mongolia in search of answers. The noncorpum becomes untethered when a host is murdered, but is reborn as a Mongolian baby. They learn their origins by transmigrating into the baby's grandmother. The noncorpum began their life as a young Buddhist monk executed during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. An interrupted attempt by another monk to save their life by transmigrating their soul to another body led to their life as a noncorpum. Faced with the meaning of their existence, the noncorpum decides to save the baby's life by transmigrating back into her body and becoming her mortal soul. In the sixth chapter, Margarita Latunsky works as an attendant in the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

. Rudi, her abusive boyfriend, and Jerome, an

art forger Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

, conspire with her to steal a Delacroix painting from the museum. Following the successful heist, Jerome betrays the group, steals the painting, and murders Rudi. Latunsky then murders Jerome, but the painting is again stolen by Rudi's criminal associate, leaving Latunsky to the police. The chapter ends with Latunsky's concession that she is an

unreliable narrator In literature, film, and other such arts, an unreliable narrator is a narrator who cannot be trusted, one whose credibility is compromised. They can be found in a wide range from children to mature characters. While unreliable narrators are al ...

. The next chapter follows Marco, a

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

and drummer in a band called The Music of Chance. Through the course of a day in London, Marco interacts with characters referenced in previous chapters and considers the role chance plays in his non-committal lifestyle. In the eighth chapter, Mo Muntervary has resigned her position as a physicist studying quantum cognition after realizing the research was being used to develop weapons for the United States government. Military agents pursue her as she flees through London, Hong Kong, Mongolia, and finally her home in Clear Island, Ireland, where the inhabitants decide to defend her. The ninth chapter is related entirely through dialogue. It centers on Bat Segundo, the host of a late night call-in radio show, Night Train. Segundo receives regular calls from an entity calling itself Zookeeper. It becomes clear that Zookeeper is a benevolent

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

that was created by Mo Muntervary, which has broken loose. Zookeeper claims to have prevented disasters such as nuclear war in a bid to protect humanity. During one of the calls, Zookeeper is interrupted by a non-corpum named Arupadhatu. They offer Zookeeper a pact to dominate the world, but Zookeeper refuses and destroys Arupadhatu live on-air. Segundo and Zookeeper continue their Night Train discussions through a series of global disasters. The final chapter follows Quasar during his terror attack on the Tokyo subway. During the attack, Quasar encounters people and objects on the subway car referencing each other chapter. The novel concludes with Quasar on the subway platform questioning what has really happened.

Reception

Upon release, it was generally well-received. Globally,

Complete Review ''Complete Review'' (stylized ''complete review'') is a literary website founded in March 1999. It is best known for reviews of novels in English translation, in particular drawing attention to otherwise neglected contemporary works from around th ...

saying on the consensus "No complete consensus, though all agree that it is ambitious, and Mitchell has talent. Many are in absolute awe, but others find it an uneven effort".

Connections to other Mitchell works

Characters mentioned in this book would appear in subsequent Mitchell novels, making ''Ghostwritten'' the initial entry in what would later become a heavily interconnected universe of stories. * Neal Brose, the Hong Kong-based lawyer from that story, is a minor character in '' Black Swan Green''. * The book publisher Timothy Cavendish (from the London story) has a much larger role in ''

''. His brother Denholme (the head of the law firm in the Hong Kong section) is also featured. * Luisa Rey, a journalist who phones into the Night Train show near the end of the book, is also a primary character in ''

'' and a secondary character in '' Utopia Avenue''. * Suhbataar, the KGB agent from the Mongolia and St Petersburg stories, reappears as an arms dealer in Mitchell's next novel, ''

''. * Dwight Silverwind, a spiritualist author mentioned several times in ''Ghostwritten'', makes an appearance in '' The Bone Clocks''. * Radio DJ Bat Segundo plays the titular band's first single in '' Utopia Avenue''. * The noncorporeal entity who narrates the Mongolia section shares many similarities to the Horologists in '' The Bone Clocks'', including the ability to hide out undetected in another's mind and to reincarnate into a newly born child if killed. ** The same being makes an appearance in '' Utopia Avenue'', known there as the Mongolian. * Mo Muntervary of Clear Island reappears several decades later in the final section of '' The Bone Clocks'', which is also set in rural southern Ireland. ** It is implied throughout both novels she is a descendant of Con Twomey (the false name of Fiacre Muntervary), a character in ''

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet ''The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet'' is an historical fiction novel by British author David Mitchell published by Sceptre in 2010. It is set during the Dutch trading concession with Japan in the late 18th century, during the period of Ja ...

''.

References

{{David Mitchell 1999 British novels Novels by David Mitchell John Llewellyn Rhys Prize–winning works Hodder & Stoughton books Ghost narrator Novels set in Tokyo Novels set in Hong Kong Novels set in Mongolia Novels set in Saint Petersburg Novels set in London Novels set in County Cork Novels set in New York City Fiction about ghostwriting 1999 debut novels Japan in non-Japanese culture