At 15 years old, Holly Sykes runs away from home to live with her boyfriend, a man several years older than her who her mother does not approve of. That quickly falls through, however, and Holly finds herself out on the streets alone. But figuring out how to take care of herself is not her only problem. As a young girl Holly experienced psychic phenomena, including hearing voices she dubbed ‘the radio people’. Nightmarish visions begin to reappear as she wanders the English countryside and culminate in the ultimate nightmare: the disappearance of her younger brother, Jacko. With these events, Holly is pulled into a 60 year journey that she did not ask to be part of.

Out of all the books I’ve read by David Mitchell, The Bone Clocks would have to be my favorite. Although it is the longest book, it took me the shortest amount of time to read it. While some characters were more interesting than others, I found them all entertaining and all left me wanting to know more about who they are and what part they play in the overall story. I also thought the plot of The Bone Clocks was intriguing. Mitchell took a complex idea and was able to write it out in a way that was not only easy to understand but also thought provoking. The Bone Clocks made me think about the existence of people and the roles we play in each others lives. I thought it resembled Ghostwritten, but where Ghostwritten felt like several short stories that kind of connected, The Bone Clocks was a complete story.

The only aspect of the book that may turn people off is the way the story jumps through years, leaving open ended sections as the reader transitions to a new character. Although the years not featured are discussed and the reader can put together what has transpired since the last section, it does leave a yearning to be able to read and know the entire story, bit by bit. I personally wish I could’ve read what exactly happened when Holly finally returns home. Instead I am stuck with quickly supplied information that I need to connect to create the entire picture. I think to people who are not familiar with Mitchell’s writing style, this might be a turn off and take away from the story as a whole.

However, I will say that everything did end up falling nicely into place. There were instances where parts that happened in the beginning of the book came back in the middle or at the end that gave me the biggest and most satisfying ‘Ah ha!’ moment. So while I was left longing to know more (even after I finished), I think that longing helped to propel me forward where I would, eventually, find out more.