Cloud Atlas

In 1931, Robert Frobisher writes a letter to Rufus Sixsmith. He describes a dream in which he vandalizes a china shop, but the destruction sounds to him like a symphony. On waking from the dream, he was forced to flee his hotel room as he couldn’t afford to pay. Rather than ask his father for money, Frobisher plans to seek out a “reclusive English composer” (45) named Vyvyan Ayrs and offer to become his amanuensis. In the musical world, an amanuensis functions as an assistant, transcribing the notation as the composer dictates it. Frobisher knows that Sixsmith would reluctantly approve, which is why he loves him. Frobisher travels from England to Belgium aboard a ship named Kentish Queen. During the voyage, he refuses a job offer and has sex with a “scrawny but inventive” (46) boat steward. In Belgium, Frobisher travels to Bruges through the same countryside where his brother Adrian was killed in World War I. He seeks out Ayrs’s chateau. There, he meets Ayrs and his family: Jocasta van Outryve de Crommelynck, his “coolly courteous” wife, and Eva, their daughter. Ayrs agrees to let Frobisher audition to be his amanuensis.

Frobisher asks Sixsmith to stop sending telegrams, as “telegrams attract attention” (52). Frobisher auditions for Ayrs and, while walking around the chateau grounds, spots Eva. They talk, though she’s cold toward him. Afterward, Frobisher talks to Jocasta. She hopes that her husband will hire him. Ayrs invites Frobisher to compose with him after breakfast. Frobisher is bemused by Ayrs’s antics and is still unsure whether he has passed his audition. Frobisher “must ask” Sixsmith to lend him money.

Sixsmith disguises the loan to Frobisher as a gift from Frobisher’s uncle. Frobisher is hired as Ayrs’s amanuensis, and they begin work. He describes their daily “work routine.” Ayrs isn’t afraid to make his political opinions clear to his assistant. Frobisher meets the family’s friends, though Eva is still cold toward him. In his letter to Sixsmith, he mentions a book he discovered in Ayrs’s library: the journal of Adam Ewing. He’s annoyed that the journal seems to stop “mid-sentence” and asks Sixsmith to track down the rest of it. Additionally, Frobisher plans to steal valuable books from the library. He wants Sixsmith to provide him with the “best prices” for a number of interesting texts.

With Frobisher’s help, Ayrs writes a piece titled The Dead Bird (Der Todtenvogel). Eva seems annoyed that Frobisher is constantly in the family home. Jocasta isn’t annoyed. She has “begun, subtly, to flirt” (67) with Frobisher. One afternoon, Ayrs loudly brags about the time he killed a man with his pistol. In his next letter, Frobisher confesses that he and Jocasta “are lovers.” She has had numerous affairs, he explains, because her husband has syphilis. Frobisher doesn’t feel guilty. Furthermore, The Dead Bird has received rave reviews. The daring composition caused “FISTICUFFS” in Germany. Frobisher has begun to see much of himself in Eva. Now, he plans to hand over his stolen books to a common acquaintance named Otto Jansch. He’ll use this money to repay Sixsmith’s loans.

Sixsmith forges a letter, claiming to be a lawyer representing Frobisher’s father. The letter gives Frobisher an excuse to meet Jansch in Bruges. He sells the books and then agrees to have sex with Jansch for “a little pocket money” (74). Afterward, Frobisher spends his money. While shopping, he notices Eva walking around the city with an older gentleman. When he speaks to her, she introduces the man as Monsieur van de Velde. She stays with the van de Velde family while at school in Bruges. Should Frobisher spread rumors about her, Eva warns, she’ll sully his reputation by spreading rumors of her own. Frobisher confesses to Sixsmith that the women of Zedelghem seem to “best [him] every time” (78).

While Frobisher is in bed with Jocasta, Ayrs bursts into the room. He doesn’t notice her hiding beneath the sheets. He’s in an inspired mood and wants Frobisher to notate the music in his mind, something that came to him in a dream. He recalls the dream, in which he entered a café where every waitress had the same face and the patrons ate soap. He tries to describe the music he heard in this nightmarish café. Once he has described the music and Frobisher has written it down, Ayrs exits. He’s gone only a moment. Bursting back in, he demands to know whether Jocasta has made sexual advances toward Frobisher. Frobisher “emphatically” denies this while Jocasta lays beneath the sheets beside him.

Frobisher describes his annoyance that Ayrs is taking all the credit for their collaborations. Ayrs wants to hire Frobisher for another six months because he’s working on a piece titled Eternal Recurrence and needs Frobisher’s help. However, Frobisher is reluctant to commit. He wants Ayrs to admit that he “needs [Frobisher] more than [Frobisher needs] him” (85). In another letter, Frobisher describes his affair with Jocasta. She inspects his body, discovering a birthmark shaped like a comet. She wants to know about his sexual history. Frobisher has noticed how protective she has become toward him. He has had to assure her that he won’t leave—either her or her husband. However, the affair no longer brings him any joy. Instead, he feels a “savagery” when they’re together. Nevertheless, he agrees to stay with Ayrs for another six months.