What an amazing novel! A group of people, separated by centuries, are united through the story of Aethon, a fable in which a sheepherder is turned into a donkey, a fish and a crow, learning about life as he goes. There is Anna, an orphan in a house of women who embroider for the church, who learns to read and who finds a book with the story. She escapes the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and takes little besides the book. Outside the walls, with the siege army determined to take the city, is Omeir. He knows little about the war or its purpose. He was conscripted to join the fighting force when it needed his oxen to pull about heavy implements of war.

Fast forward five hundred years and we meet Zeno. He met the love of his life while a prisoner of war in Korea and the story of the foolish sheepherder united the two men in their travails and gave Zeno's life a purpose. Once he goes back to the United States, he spends his retirement in the town library, painstakingly translating Aethon's story from the original language from a rediscovered manuscript that is torn and tattered, stained and missing pages and words. He shares the story with a group of fifth graders who soon learn to love the story and the man who shares it with them. He saves their lives on the day that a misguided teen comes into the library with bombs, determined to destroy the establishment that has never had time for him or his mother.

Fast forward again and we meet Konstance. She has grown up on a spaceship, one that fled the Earth's destruction from climate change and that is headed to a new planet. That planet will not be reached during any of the crew's lifetimes so they are a wish and a prayer that their descendants can reach the new planet and give man another chance. As she reads Aethon's story, she starts to put together her father's love of it with clues around her to discover a bigger truth than the ones she has grown up with.

My only regret is reading this marvelous novel so early in the year. It is hard to imagine that I will read a better one this year. The intricate stories of each character and the way their lives are intertwined over the centuries through love of a story is an amazing plotline and one that Doerr manages magnificently. I can easily see this novel being my top read of 2023 and it would be a travesty if it doesn't win major literary awards. This book is recommended for literary fiction readers, historical fiction readers and anyone who enjoys a wonderful book.

Sadly, I was not able to finish this book. I got about 60% through but found I was so confused and was unable to follow the story or characters or timelines. Thanks so much for my copy though!!

I’m giving this novel a favorable rating because it’s well written, and Doerr has a way of making even the most mundane things sound beautiful. BUT (it’s a big but) I will say that it was a tough pill to swallow. It’s probably 100+ pages longer than necessary, and there was so much going on. I have no issue with multiple timelines. I have no issue with multiple narrators. But with 5-6 different storylines (including the myth woven throughout)? And some storylines that jumped around in time? It was chaotic and difficult to follow at times. I felt like I needed to take notes. The chapters were fairly short, so the reader switches POV constantly. It’s enough to give you whiplash.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for this ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion.
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I don’t know how this book managed to stay hidden on my ARC shelf for so long, but I hate that it did. I thought that All the Light We Cannot See was beautiful, and Doerr did not disappoint on this one.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is a weaving epic of intertwined characters and their stories. I felt so many emotions throughout the story. Doerr has a way of making you connect with his characters, even if you have nothing in common with them. Even if this isn’t your usual genre of book, you should give it a chance.

Imaginative and immersive, Cloud Cuckoo Land transports readers through time and perspective, from Constantinople prior to - and during - the Ottoman siege, to 1950s Korea, to 2000s Idaho, to the Argos, whose crew is on a quest for a new planet. A celebration of the written word and of the triumph of the literary record against starvation, war, and the elements, Cloud Cuckoo Land - with its truths and myths - is an exaltation to scribes, authors, and those who would save, preserve, protect, and share books.

DNF @15%. I’ve picked this one up a few times now, and I just can’t get into it. A case of it’s me, not you.

From Constantinople to Idaho to an interstellar spaceship, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr traverses time and space. In many ways, this book reminds me of David Mitchell’s works - a cast of characters across time and place but with the same themes recurring throughout and a circular approach leaving a cohesive singular message. For the survival of children, for the survival of books, for a lover letter to the power of stories and those who protect them, this will remain a memorable book for me.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2022/12/cloud-cuckoo-land.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

Incredible novel flitting between characters i medieval times, the present day, and the future, all of whom have discovered the ancient story of Aethon, who is trying to gain the magic to turn into a bird.

How is it even possible to not completely love everything written by Anthony Doerr? Like many, I came to Cloud Cuckoo Land after being absorbed by All the Light We Cannot See (to this day, one of my favorite and often recommended books) and I'm delighted to share that much of Doerr's incredible writing is present here, including impossibly beautiful descriptions, even of the most unimportant things. The past, present, and future are woven together so skillfully throughout, although it's likely that you will be drawn to some character POVs than others. It's only natural when there are so many characters and storylines. If there is one fault - and perhaps it is arguably a fault - is its length. But the writing is wonderful so at least you won't feel like you wasted your time. Literary fiction fans and readers who value a good storyline will be enthralled by Doerr's ambitious latest.

Thanks to Scribner for sharing an early copy via NetGalley.

This is a Historical Fiction/Science Fiction/Fantasy. I have to say I did not know if this would be mine kind of book because fantasy/science fiction is hit or miss for me, but I loved this author's other book "All the Light We Cannot See". I have to say this book has several different timelines and several characters. It took me about 100 pages into this book before I got pulled into this book. There are some of the characters I liked more then others and some of the timelines took me longer to get into. The ending was so very good, and the ending pulled everything together so nicely. This book made me think about so many things, and I loved where this book went. This is not going to be the book for everyone, and I think the writing style this author as will not be for everyone. I found just like All the Light We Cannot See there are things that comes out early in the book that will not make a lot of sense until closer to the ending when everything comes together

This was one of the best books I’ve read this year. The stories of individuals told throughout time and place were so perfectly interwoven. The many themes explored in the book sparked so much internal thought; I especially was drawn to the theme of generational knowledge: what information survives, what is lost, how it affects future generations, and the small individual acts that either preserve or destroy that knowledge. Beautiful.

Amazing! Highly rated for so many reasons, this is a book you just have to read!!! It will stick with you for week, months, maybe even years!

The timelines in this novel are enveloping and intricately woven. This novel offers many opportunities for the analysis of characterization and literary devices. I can absolutely see this being adopted into undergraduate or AP curricula and will recommend this to those who aren't afraid of an ambitious read

When I first read the synopsis of this book I had no idea what it was going to be about. When I started reading, I was still unsure of where this book was going. Three wildly different timelines were explored in this story and that fact alone had me interested. It took me a little bit to get into the book, but Doerr’s writing style had me turning the pages. It was a slow start, which I don’t always love, but once I started to see how everything came together, it became a quicker read for me. This is a very long book, but for me it was definitely worth the read. There are so many stand out parts throughout!

Anna and Omeir from 15th century Constantinople, Seymour and Zeno in 21st century Idaho, and Konstance on a 22nd century spaceship, are all connected through this book. What I loved most is that they are connected through stories, books, and libraries. These characters are drawn to stories with a sense of awe that I absolutely loved reading about.

I found all three timelines to be interesting. The characters were developed well and once I started to get into the story, I really enjoyed seeing all the characters come together in their own timeline as well as seeing how they interconnected. I would definitely recommend this book to those who like historical fiction with a twist. It does start off a little slow, but I think it is definitely worth it and was a great read!

All I can say is that Anthony Doerr is a genius. The way he wove four different timelines along with a delightful Greek fable is absolutely incredible. His writing is so beautiful and this novel went straight to my heart. I especially loved the Idaho setting since I love near his fictitious Lakeport. The characters were so complicated but still relatable and likable. The ending was perfection. Cloud Cuckoo Land was absolutely worth the time to get through more than 600 pages. I loved it!

I read Cloud Cuckoo Land after being enchanted by Anthony Doer's All The Light We Cannot See, and am continuously blown away by his ability to build such vibrant worlds and characters. I always worry with books that are split between different narrators that I will fall in love with one character more than the other and speed through chapters I don't care about to move along in the story, but that was NOT the case with this one. I cared so deeply about each person and by the end of the book, they all felt so real to me.

I recommend this to any one who likes deeply complex characters and is thrilled by an interweaving narrative. The pay off at the end when everything connected was definitely worth it. And I look forward to reading Doer's next book and looking into his backlist.

This book is amazing!! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I started to read this and it didn't grab my attention within the first 50 pages. I stopped reading at that point. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It took me over a year to read this book. I would start and stop, then start it again. With that being said, it truly is a wonderful book. It is not one that can be read passively, you need to set time aside to just focus on it. AND
I would not recommend the audiobook. There are so many different characters, plot lines and points in times, that it is really hard to kept track of everything and not be able to see timelines. But I would encourage everyone to read it.

A fantastic, sweeping story. I really had totrust in the author to get through this but I'm glad I did because it all came together. This would make for a great read for a more experienced book club.