I liked this book! It was a little long in spots and Aethon’s story was a bit difficult to follow at first. There are multiple stories going on at once, so it takes some time to settle into the characters and get invested. However, once I got there I really enjoyed the different stories, the similarities in their lives, and how Aethon’s story affected each of the characters. It was also neat to see the role of librarians and how reading played an important role in the characters’ lives. This was a neat story!

I loved his other books but I just couldn’t connect with this one it just jumped around to much and seemed disjointed.

Thank you to #netgalley and #scribner for allowing me to read this beautiful book. I didn’t know where it was going at first but it tied up beautifully at the end. Wonderful writing and an amazing storyteller and I didn’t expect any less from Anthony Doerr.

Like many other readers, I wanted to love this, as Doerr's writing is beautiful and original, but I found the constant changing between characters and milieus too much to keep track of and eventually, I lost interest. It might have helped if the chapters were longer, so I could stick with one set of characters longer, but they were short, making the reading feel choppy and disjointed.

I think if you can manage to keep interested long enough to get to where the stories twine together, you might like it more. I see many 5 star reviews from those who did. But it was not a book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A beautifully crafted story! I was at first intimidated and a little put off by the number of characters and settings to keep track of, but once I pushed through the beginning chapters, I fell in the love with the story.

Beautifully written utilizing storylines woven through multiple ages from antiquity to the future, I’d best describe this as literary historical science fiction. On the surface, it would not seem the varied storylines would work together, but there is so much to unpack as you follow Omeir and Anna in medieval Constantinople, Zeno and Seymour in modern day and Konstance in the futuristic community all interspersed by the lost Greek tale of Aethan. My favorite theme was definitely how story writing ties ages together and how they provide healing and comfort. I honestly could read this several times over with an eye on different themes. Cloud Cuckoo Land is definitely one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading this year. As an avid reader who had been suffering a streak of subpar books, this book reignited my passion for reading and shows Doerr’s giftedness as an author.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book. This review is my own opinion.

I really, really tried, but I could not finish this book. I pushed myself through more than half of it, but it just wasn’t for me. I loved All the Light We Cannot See and was so excited to be able to get an advance copy of this new one. The writing is fabulous and he has obviously done his research but the story itself is too segmented for me to follow. I found none of the characters appealing. I was curious to see how he brought all of the storylines together but I felt like I was forcing myself to read, like a college assignment. I’m sure it will get deservedly wonderful reviews but this book is not for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read it.

4.3 I did like this book but I have to be honest that it was a very challenging read. Like many said before me, it is hard to stay engaged during the early parts of the novel, but you have to keep reading on and it is well worth the bumpy ride. I absolutely loved All the Light We Cannot See so I was really excited to get an advance copy of this novel. The writing and prose are breathtaking in this novel. The stories, each taking part in different times—the fall of Constantinople in the fifteenth century, an event at a library in Idaho in 2020, and a spaceship en route to a distant planet in the future—weave an inextricably linked storyline through an ancient manuscript of a shepherd’s yearning for utopia and how certain decisions to attain that impacted his life; yet at times the stories were hard to follow but did eventually come together. Doerr has provided us with a creative novel to look at the past, present and future with overlapping themes, including particularly the love of books and what they impart and teach us, and impact our lives, and to a lesser extent, the impact and ravages of war, and the impact of humans on earth. Some characters are definitely more endearing than others, but I really liked Zeno, Omeir and Anna, and Konstance just a little less. At the end I have to admit I found Doerr’s concept for this novel both ingenious and chilling. This is very different from All The Light We Cannot See, and it may not be for everyone, but it is a very interesting and worthwhile read. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for a candid and unbiased review.

A lovely novel with interweaving stories spanning hundreds of years. It sounds too ambitious, but the author did a great job capturing the feel of each time period along with thorough character development. I will recommend this novel to my patrons.

I am a library paraprofessional and received an advance copy from #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley.com for an ARC!
Anthony Doerr’s new novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land, builds upon many of the same themes as All the Light We Cannot see: the role of technologies in linking people together, the empathy required of us to see the brilliance of disabled people, the destructive uselessness of war, and the importance, and bittersweetness, of strong father-daughter relationships.

Like many contemporary writers, Doerr uses a structure that Deleuze and Guattari characterize as rhizomatic—disparate narratives held together by barely visible threads. What holds all these stories together, and gives them novelistic unity, is the story of “Cloud Cuckoo Land,” a previously lost Hellenistic adventure novel that recounts the story of foolish shepherd who wants desperately to become a bird so that he may fly away to the otherworldly paradise of “Cloud Cuckoo Land.”

Doerr employs many tried and true metafictional tropes—the rediscovered ancient manuscript, the story that heals in its telling, and the misunderstood hero. There are so many wonderful things about this book, I’m loathe to ruin any of them for the invested reader, but that reader needs to be forewarned the novel requires patient and attentive effort. Doerr’s book invites us, through its structure and its themes, to recognize that listeners to stories are those stories co-creators. In the midst of that co-creation, he grapples with environmental degradation, pandemic, corporate greed and hubris, and conspiracy theories. It is a magnificent book that will reward readers and stay with them long after they complete it, just as the story of “Cloud Cuckoo Land” endures in the novel itself

This was an obvious choice for me to read since I enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See so much by this author. The second reason I wanted to read this book was because the title intrigued me. I had never heard the express "cloud cuckoo land" so I looked it up and found the meaning in Wikipaedia: "Cloud cuckoo land is a state of absurdly, over-optimistic fantasy or an unrealistically idealistic state where everything is perfect. Someone who is said to "live in cloud cuckoo land" is a person who thinks that things that are completely impossible might happen, rather than understanding how things really are.[1] It also hints that the person referred to is naive, unaware of realities or deranged in holding such an optimistic belief.

In the modern world, a "cloud cuckoo lander" is defined as someone who is seen as "crazy" or "strange" by most average people, often doing or saying things that seemingly only make sense to themselves, but also exhibit cleverness at times in ways no one else would think of.[2]" The term originated from the Greek comic dramatist Aristophanes (450 - 385 BC) in 'The Birds'.

This book encompasses that meaning with four stories set across four time periods. The book moves back and forth between the characters' stories, and each is fascinating. The stories are of Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance, and each is very different yet alike in that they are all outside of mainstream society and they all have their own dreams. These stories all have a central core of hope running throughout the book. My favorite was Konstance's story, I think, although I liked all of them. This book crosses many genres and is compelling.

Thanks to Scribner through Netgalley for an advance copy. This will be published on September 28, 2021.

Unfortunately this one didn't land for me. I just didn't really connect with the characters enough to keep me interested and invested in the plot, which I found confusing. Anthony Doerr is a phenomenal and beautiful writer and knowing his other book, the wait for the stories to converge is likely worth it, I just couldn't wrap my head around the world enough to continue.

There is such a distinction between this book and most other books I have read in the past few months. This book is a creative and sophisticated piece with beautiful prose. It is also a bit hard to follow at times and the Odyssey pieces were lost on me (yes, that's a bit embarrassing but true). I am conflicted between the book being a brilliant piece and I simply didn't understand parts or is it too complicated for its readership and bit long and slow at parts. When I finish reading this review I will read some others to see if there is a consensus on this:) This would make a great book club read - it would take hours just to figure out the relevant themes. And I must add that the writing about the Atlas reminded me of trying to place an electronic escape room!!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair an honest review.

This wonderfully complex novel manages to convey multiple very different stories that have common threads in such a way that each one is equally important and engrossing. Ranging from a tale by Diogenes to 15th century Constantinople to recent Idaho to a dystopian future, it hardly seems likely that there could be a common thread. But of course Doerr has handled the themes and plots masterfully, leading to a memorable work that will give readers much to contemplate and discuss.

This is one of the best books I've read this year! Anthony Doerr is an expert at creating deep, complex and sympathetic characters in his books, and this is no different: Anna and Omeir in Constantinople hundreds of years ago, Zeno and Seymour in present-day Idaho, and Konstance in a spaceship in the future. Doerr writes strong women characters you grow to admire, and complex men with flaws. I loved the storyline and the development as we follow the path of the book Cloud Cuckoo Land through these three points in time. Doerr also crafts settings that you can experience with all your senses and I appreciated the importance of the setting of libraries throughout all the storylines. Doerr illustrated the importance of that setting almost as a character that upholds the values and intelligence of the community. Love Love Love this book!

Thank you to Book Club Favorites at Simon & Schuster for the free copy for review, and thank you also to NetGalley for a copy of this book for review - 600+ pages and I tore through it in 6 days. That is how AMAZING this book is. Anthony Doerr is a genius at interweaving story lines... but this book takes it to the next level. At first the stories can be confusing - but bare with him! They make sense quickly. An ancient story about Aethon written by Antonius Diogenes (perhaps this is Doerr's chosen Greek name?) links the past, the present, and the future - Anna and Omeir, Seymore and Zeno, and finally Konstance and the Argos. Cloud Cuckoo Land/The Story of Aethon touches each and every character in a unique way, and the brilliance of the story unfolding keeps the pages turning faster and faster. There are twists that I didn't see coming that bring the characters almost within reach of each other. The lessons we learn about how we destroy our Earth, our knowledge, our libraries, and each other... it's a hard one to swallow, but this book brings these important and extremely relevant topics to light. I can't recommend this book enough, and I am so grateful to have had a chance to read it early. Go pre order this book now - and crack it open on September 28th. You won't regret it! #BookClubFavorites

Cloud Cuckoo Land is a beautifully written book ! Anthony Doerr has created a carefully crafted and wonderfully woven story that will fill the reader with so many emotions.

Doerr tells three stories in three time periods with Diogene’s Greek story of Aethon being the thread that pulls all the time periods and characters together. Omeir and Anna, Seymour and Zeno and Konstance are so alive and share with the reader the challenges they face in their lifetimes. Through their eyes we experience the horrors of war, a pandemic, forced labor, hatred, poverty, climate changes and fear. Yet the codex discovered by Anna, Zeno and Konstance gives them all hope and life.

I loved Doerr’s All The Light We Cannot See and he has created another masterpiece for readers to savor.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to Scribner for this wonderful opportunity !

4.5 stars

I (mostly) loved All The Light We Cannot See, especially for the quality of the writing. I was so excited to read this when I heard that it was coming out and was very curious to see how large a pivot this book is from the previous one. I begged Scribner for an e-galley in return for an honest review.
I think this was an issue of wrong book/wrong reader for me. It has been compared to Cloud Atlas in its jumping around in time, among several different stories to create something that eventually comes together. I think that should have been a warning to me, though because I didn't really enjoy Cloud Atlas either (despite loving David Mitchell's writing). I had a very similar experience with Cloud Cuckoo Land. The chapters were short enough that by the time I had an understanding of which story I was reading, it ended and changed to another. After a while, I just sort of lost interest. I know this has been a 5 star read for so many, but it was just really not for me.

If there is only one book that you read this year, make it this one. Cloud Cuckoo Land is one of the best books I have ever! read, in my life! Written by Anthony Doerr, who also penned All the Light We Cannot See, (another gorgeously written book) is enthralling, rapturous, stunning and other descriptions that do not do it justice. It is a story based on a Codex written in Greek, authored by a writer that Doerr names Antonius Diogenes, (is it perhaps Anthony Doerr's Greek name???), and the story covers years in time from the 1400's to the 2050's. The 5 main characters Omeir, Anna, Zeno, Seymore and Konstance, couldn't be more different. Doerr has written the intricacies of these characters beautifully. I particularly love the way he writes about Omeir and how he nurtures and cares for his twin oxen, Tree and Moonlight. (That story broke my heart). This is a book about humanity, its failures and its achievements and the love of birds, animals and our earth. I cannot thank Scribner Publishing for allowing me the epub to read, as well and Netgalley! But, all my praise goes to Anthony Doerr.....THANK YOU for writing this gorgeous novel. I hope it ends up on the Bestseller List, as it should!

I rate this novel a 50 out of 5 stars!!!!!

I really wanted to like this book, especially because I loved the author's previous works, but I found this story to be somewhat tedious and drawn out. It had potential, but its zigzagging and convoluted storytelling honestly...bored me. The writing was beautiful, but I'm not sure it was enough.