As much as I wanted to like this book at a logical level, I didn't find much joy reading it. The storylines didn't weave through each other gracefully—it felt like they kept cutting each other off mid-sentence. Just as one storyline picked up momentum, the thread was dropped and the mental effort felt wasted. The different characters—Omeir, Seymour, Anna, Zeno, and the shepherd from the original Greek text—eventually were joined together at the end. Yet it felt that the pieces fell into place too neatly for the conclusion to feel surprising. The I character I liked the least was Zeno, who languished under his trauma and didn't develop as a character until towards the story's end. Anna was memorable due to her strength of will, and I wish she were given more spotlight.

On the bright side, I did enjoy the prose when it didn't indulge long-winded descriptions of the surroundings. Maybe this is just the way a child's tale is sometimes: the plot unfolds following the path of least resistance and leaves the reader wanting a messier, more engaging series of events.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the ARC.

I could not get into this book. The story was too far away with too many characters that I couldn't keep straight. I was not able to finish this book.

10 stars! What an amazing tale, Three tales over time periods: 1400s Constantinople, present day Idaho, and in a future time flying through space to a distant planet. Stories of young people all influenced by Doerr’s 4th tale, a fictional ancient manuscript that is passed down through time.

Doerr brilliantly weaves these 4 threads together into a magical whole. What an imagination to have conceived this story and then to render the characters, eras, places w such simple and elegant writing. I wish I could read it for the first time again.

Yes, the book can be confusing at first. Let it go and read on. As for the length, I didnt want it to end! One quibble, I wanted more from the epilogue. When you finish the book, see if you understand what I mean by that.

I love that this book is described as “stewardship—of the book, of the Earth, of the human heart.”

Within its pages we have the story of Anna and Omeir in 15th century Constantinople, Seymour and Zeno in present day Idaho, and Konstance in some future decade traveling to an exoplanet, all woven together by a book’s thread. I think what’s most impressive is that every storyline is captivating. In so many of the multiple viewpoint/timeline books I’ve read, there’s typically one character or time frame I find boring, but that can’t be said for this book.

It took me a good quarter way in before I knew for certain I wouldn’t quit before all 600+ pages were through, and from there I became more and more invested with every page. Stick with it, dear reader!

I feel like I have so much to process yet and so many questions, and yet I’m sated and can tell I will be mulling over this book for quite some time. Don’t let its 640 pages scare you - it’s worth the ride.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for a review.

A wondrous story centering around an ancient manuscript telling the story of Aethon and it's effect on children in different places and centuries. Yes it sound complicated and it is not the easiest book to read but quite marvelous if you can set a chunk of time aside and really dig into it.

This beautiful novel takes a handful of children, outsiders in their own times and places, and weaves them together through a universal tale of ecology, compassion and survival. From the siege of Constantinople in 1453 to a futuristic spaceship hurtling toward a better world we explore the universality of children's hopes and dreams, of the need to conserve and protect our earth and how stories and books can live on through generations and eons to unite us all.

This is a beautifully written, complex series of tales. The characters are so well-crafted that you feel like you are in “ their space.” It has many moments of grace, but also many poignant, painful moments too. This made it a challenging book for me. . .

I want to say this first – I absolutely loved All the Light We Cannot See. It is one of my top favorite books ever. But unfortunately, I am going to have to be completely honest, this is the weirdest book I have ever read and the weirdest book I finished. I was not going to give up on Mr. Doerr. Several times I stopped and went back to read the 5-star reviews just to make sure I was reading the same book. I was so glad when this one was over.
I did not find this as an enjoyable or an easy read, it took me almost a week because I backtracked so many times to see what I was missing. I am at the end and I still have no idea what it was all about. So many characters, so many jumps between time frames, so much going on. Maybe if we could have stayed with Anna and just told her story or Seymour or Konstance, but wow, I was unable to keep track or understand any of it. From the previous reviews I may be in the minority but this one is way out there.
I won’t give up on this author, you can’t write a gorgeous book like the Light without having the gift and I will definitely be reading more from him. But this one did not work for me.
I received an ARC from Scribner along with NetGalley for my honest review. This one comes in with 3 stars.

This book is sure to be a best-seller and a hugely popular choice among book clubs. The characters are unique, and highly memorable. Doerr weaves his story together so beautifully, connecting seemingly different worlds seamlessly. An homage to books, libraries, librarians and storytellers. His best yet!!! Don't miss it!

At first i thought I may have lost my ability to comprehend difficult text. Then after messaging with a friend, I realized that this is just dang hard to read but still really good? It's a lot. It jumps time and place and people yet, I cared. I wanted to know how doerr connected all of them. I think books like this require a high level of trusting the author. Ultimately, I"m glad I did. 

This is historical fiction, futuristic fiction, greek mythology, commentary on environmental issues, all wrapped into one book. 

I can't say if this is for you. I can't say if you loved all the light we cannot see you will love this one. But if you are in the mood to try something different- pick this one up.

In this novel, Anthony Doerr weaves together story lines from the past present and future. An ancient text passes through the hands of time and interweaves a story between 6 main characters. The result is a beautiful story that flows easily through time.

I will first say that Anthony Doerr’s writing is beautiful. He is a true master of the language and this work is another Pulitzer Prize worthy effort.

That being said, the story did not really resonate with me. There were too many characters and by the time that I finally got into it I found it hard to focus. I will say that this book is a slow burn and that the second half is much better than the first. For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, I did not find this book to be similar, other than the beautiful prose.

Another memorable aspect of this book is the concept of the storyline. It is truly unique. Fans of Anthony Doerr should really give this book a shot and just may have to remember to power through the first half.

Special thank you to net galley and Scribner for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has everything! Historical Fiction, Modern Fiction, and Futuristic Fiction. What a feat to tie them all together! The reading went super quick because i kept wanting to learn more about each section. Very thought-provoking. Highly recommend for bookclubs due to a lot of discussion points. Highly recommend for individual readers because of the new information, and wanting to figure out the commonalities. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner Publishing for the chance to read and review one of my new favorite books, Cloud Cuckoo Land. There is a scene early in the book in which school age children are in awe of a space that honors a book, imagination, dreams... this is how I feel about this book, imagine a book that has a scene that captures the awe and joy of the book itself. The story is about the power of storytelling over time and how stories matter and it is worth the time to dive into the fantastical storytelling that Doerr shares.

This book is amazingly delightful, inventive with storytelling and connecting stories and timelines and themes over time (seriously over time!) in a way that never feels dense, boring, or plodding; instead the writing is light, deft, and engaging. It might take time to see how the themes come together but good storytelling can't be rushed and the joy sometimes needs to be in the reading, not rushing to understand where a book is going and I think that is the goal, successfully achieved, of the writing.

I did not want to stop reading this book and yet it was also a book that invited me as the reader to slow down and enjoy reading. I loved the characters, especially Zeno, and I loved the quirkiness in places of the storytelling and writing.

I know that there will be a lot of anticipation for this book based on the author's previous success and I am glad to say that this book did live up to and exceed expectations, I look forward to how other readers will get to enjoy and engage with this book! I think this book was written for those who love reading, who love to get invested in a book, and who want to somehow read about that feeling; what a gift it is for an author to capture the mythical joy of storytelling and want to give that to readers.

This book is special. Part Greek myth, historical fiction, fantasy, and thriller, Cloud Cuckoo Land was phenomenal. In a sense it reminded me of Cloud Atlas or People of the Book, where characters from various time periods have a single connection that runs through each of their lives. In this case the connection is a work by the greek author Diogenes called Cloud Cuckoo Land. I loved each grouping of figures who are each very well developed. I'm not sure I could pick a favorite. Each character felt so raw and real. I have already preordered this book as I know it is one I will recommend to others and want to read again!

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for granting me a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is a beautiful testament to the importance of books and the power of storytelling. Doerr intricately weaves the storylines together, connecting the human experience across centuries. It was sometimes jarring to jump between the timelines of each character's story, but the structure of the novel was well suited to the story. Highly recommend.

• Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for providing this Advance Reading Copy. Expected publication date is September 28, 2021.

Cloud Cuckoo Land begins with a 2nd Century tale by Diogenes’s about a shepherd named Aethon in search of a utopian world outside of space and time. This is an epic tale that encompasses three narratives about those protecting the Ancient Greek codex:
Anna and Omeir (Constantinople, 1450)
Zeno Ninis (Lakeport, Idaho, 2020)
Konstance (aboard the Argos spacecraft destined for a habitable planet, mid-22nd century)
The survival of this book mimics humanity’s quest to survive.

I had a hard time getting into this book at first. I actually found myself making a flow chart of who the characters and time periods were. Once these characters were settled in my mind I looked forward to their interwoven stories —some more than others. This was not an easy read but it was definitely worth the effort.

This was a beautiful book about the power of storytelling. Its a book that makes you wish you read more books because of the power they can have.

There are three separate timelines going on in this book. The oldest timeline takes place around the 53 day siege of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed II in 1453. Anna lives inside the city and works as an embroiderer, but gets drawn into the world of reading. Doerr introduces her and says "before she turns fourteen, every person she knows will be either enslaved or dead." Omeir is born with a cleft palate far outside the city and grows up ostracized by his hometown and is forced to live outside the city until he is drawn into the war effort. In the present day there is the intersection of Seymour and Zeno at a tragedy at the Lakeport Public Library in Idaho. Seymour is a child who always felt like an outsider and was driven to act by changes in his town. In the present day, Zeno is a translator who is bringing a group of children to the library to perform a lost play he has translated. There is a future timeline with Konstance aboard the spaceship Argos, travelling to a distant planet. In the prologue we learn she has been inside Vault One for a year with scraps of paper around her. Amidst all of these plotlines are Doerr's fictional story of Cloud Cuckoo Land, presented in small pieces at the start of each chapter. The story is about a man who wants to become a bird and ends up on a classic Greek tragedy adventure.

These plotlines were not all perfect all the time. While Seymour and Zeno have a clear end point as Doerr tells their backstory, the other two plotlines drag in the beginning. The book took some time for me to get started, but as I moved through the rest of the book, I realized how Doerr was setting up the three different worlds for each of the sets of characters that made the later chapters so enjoyable and heart-wrenching. While these timelines are disconnected for a majority of the book, they are revealed to be connected in surprising ways by the end.

It is impressive how many genres Doerr works in throughout these books. Zeno's story brings features of a romance and war story. Seymour's plotline is reminiscent of the excellent The Overstory, and while it gets a bit repetitive in the middle, its ending was beautiful. Konstantine's story aboard the Argos is a sci-fi story with great themes about the power of preserving knowledge. Omeir's plotline is a war tragedy that takes the individual's view of war to show its extreme costs. Anna's story is a coming-of-age tale about learning, with elements of a heist story as well. These plotlines were all strong enough to stand on their own, but they are so effectively weaved together by Doerr to create a magical book. It is dedicated to librarians, which makes complete sense given the positive influence libraries have on all of the characters. Doerr created a fantastic, moving story that I know will stay with me for years to come.

I am so thankful to NetGalley and Scribner for giving me an ARC of this excellent book in exchange for a review.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr is a stunning work of art.

When I finished the book I was rendered speechless by how genius this story is. Every single story line was written with vivid and beautiful language. I was transported to 15th century Constantinople, to Lakeport, Idaho, and to the Argos spacecraft. I was not only emotionally connected to the characters, but even the animals they cared for. Throughout, everything held together by a fable that was translated and passed on through the centuries.

The beginning of the book was slightly overwhelming as all of the characters and their stories were introduced. I wondered if I was going to be able to remember all of the important details being delivered. The reading became much easier as I pushed on and became familiar with and tied to the characters.

The storylines break down as follows. Seymour and Zeno who both live in Lakeport, Idaho and whose paths eventually cross. Anna and Omeir, in and outside of Constantinople in the mid 14oo's. Lastly we have Konstance, who is on the Argos spaceship in the future. Each of these characters are tied together by Cloud Cuckoo Land: The story of a man on an odyssey of sorts to find a heavenly land.

I felt most emotionally connected to the stories of Omeir, Zeno, and Seymour in that order. Anna's storyline was more difficult for me to imagine. Konstance wins the award for most development of a character and also biggest plot twist, but I won't spoil it!

My heart was captured by the book early on, and as I read it I wondered just how badly Doerr was going to break it. The content is both serious and heavy as all of the characters are facing extreme difficulty in various forms. The comic relief is provided within sometimes silly language used in the fable of Cloud Cuckoo Land. The suspense, anticipation, and anxious feelings that built throughout the book were resolved by a sense of hope. That humans can persevere and that life goes on through the happiness we build and the sense of home we create.

Hopefully all of this is to say, I loved this book. It is a truly unique, magical, and beautiful story.

This was my first book from this author and I absolutely loved this story. I love how it all connects and weaves through time. The connection of the book that shares the same name as the title is fascinating. Everyone needs to read this!

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I think Cloud Cuckoo Land may be my new favorite book of all time. I hadn’t even finished it yet and was already eager to start over and read it again. It is an epic, flawless masterpiece, and I honestly could not love it more.

Though the book spans centuries, Doerr brilliantly connects all of the characters to one another through the ancient text at the heart of the story. In doing so, Doerr explores many beautiful dichotomies – the endurability and vulnerability of stories; our need for connection to the Earth, even while contributing to its destruction; humanity at its best and worse – ultimately producing an insightful and thought-provoking novel that is unlike anything I’ve ever read.

I am so grateful to Scribner for allowing me to read an advanced e-copy of this book. I will absolutely be buying a copy to keep and read again (and again).

*** I will post the above review (with a note about the publication date) to Instagram, Goodreads, and Amazon closer September 28. ***