A triumph. A fanciful, whimsical, heartbreaking, side splitting, romantic, hopeful triumph. I had high hopes for this book which as always dangerous, but it surpassed them all and surprised me in many ways. Unforgettable.

This book reminded me a bit of “Overstory” by Richard Powers, in that it consisted of stories connected by a common theme, and outstanding writing.

The overarching theme in this book is a fictional book supposedly written by the ancient Greek author Diogenes called “Cloud Cuckoo Land.” Various protagonists in disparate settings and ages find the manuscript and are fascinated by the story of a Aethon, who wishes to become a bird in order to fly to Cloud Cuckoo Land and live in the magical utopian world above the clouds.

Anna and Omeir are 13-year-olds living on opposite sides of the walls of Constantinople during the 1453 siege. Anna is an orphan and thus considered expendable, while Omeir, born with a cleft palate, is reviled as a monster. The two meet when fleeing from the chaos of battle, and Omeir helps Anna protect a transcript of “Cloud Cuckoo Land.”

Konstance is a 14-year-old living on the spaceship “Argos” in the future along with 85 others escaping from a dying Earth. She spends all her time reading “Cloud Cuckoo Land,” which she can access via the ship’s onboard intelligence/librarian/pilot/caretaker named Sybil.

Zeno, 86, and Seymour, 17, both live in Idaho in the 2020. Both of them are outsiders for reasons they couldn’t control but that lead each of them to dream of escape. As the book opens, Zeno is directing a group of fifth graders in a production of “Cloud Cuckoo Land” to be staged at the Lakeport Public Library. Seymour is trying to place a bomb inside that same library, not knowing about Zeno and the children who are in the building after hours, rehearsing.

Somehow, the stories don’t seem disconnected at all, even without the common element of the ancient manuscript. These are protagonists similarly cast adrift by society, and united by the love of stories and hope for a better world.

Evaluation: Although it’s hard to capture the magic of this story in a short review, this book is outstanding, and will give book clubs plenty to discuss.

ARC provided by Goodreads & the publisher—Scribner—in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

Cloud Cuckoo Land is more ambitious and complex than All the Light We Cannot See in every possible way.

It’s hard not to compare Doerr’s newest book to his previous immensely successful work: All the Light We Cannot See. And if I’m not mistaken, Cloud Cuckoo Land is the first novel that Doerr published since the release of All the Light We Cannot See; that’s seven years ago. I enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See, but honestly speaking, despite its insane success and praises, I never felt inclined to give Doerr’s work another try. But the premise and dedication just captured my attention so much, and now that I’ve read it, I am pretty sure that Doerr’s newest work, Cloud Cuckoo Land, will be another beloved bestseller worldwide.

“The world we’re handing our kids brims with challenges: climate instability, pandemics, disinformation. I wanted this novel to reflect those anxieties, but also offer meaningful hope, so I tried to create a tapestry of times and places that reflecs our interconnectedness—with other species, with each other, with the ones who lived before us, and the ones who will be here after we’re gone.”—Anthony Doerr

The passage above by Doerr himself has clearly states what the themes of the book are about. In addition to that, Cloud Cuckoo Land is dedicated to the librarians then, now, and in the years to come. It’s an apt dedication; Cloud Cuckoo Land is at its core a book about connections. It shows how an action or a book could affect the lives of people across multiple generations. It also shows how we remain connected with one another even long after we’re gone. And told through five main POV characters, I believe the text in Cloud Cuckoo Land will affect many future readers of this book.

“Repository… you know this word? A resting place. A text—a book—is a resting placefor the memories of people who have lived before. A way for the memory to stay fixed after the soul has traveled on.”

I loved the concept, premise, and messages of the book, but unfortunately, I will have to say that I do have mixed feelings regarding the characters and writings. As I said, Cloud Cuckoo Land is told through the perspective of five characters: Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance. Out of all of these, my favorites were Omeir’s and Zeno’s storyline; I felt that they were the most engaging. I did, however, struggled with getting interested in Anna’s and Seymour’s storyline. It shouldn’t be that way, especially for Anna because Anna and Omeir reminded me of Marie and Werner from All the Light We Cannot See. But it did happen, and I think I can pinpoint this to the way the prose is delivered.

“Each sign signifies a sound, and to link sounds is to form words, and to link words is to construct worlds.”

Doerr writes beautifully, and in this ambitious and complex novel, I wish the chapters—not all of them—were longer. With five POV characters that jump back and forth in time, things can get pretty confusing at times. But personally, my biggest issue with Cloud Cuckoo Land is that I found the POV chapters changing too quickly to my liking before I even get invested in the said character’s story. This was the same in All the Light We Cannot See; each chapter was so short, but in that novel, we have only two characters to follow. Here, we have five POV characters, with such short chapters, it was hard for me to connect with the characters. Also, similar to the prose in All the Light We Cannot See, there’s a lot of metaphors used that I couldn’t fully click with; they took me out of Doerr’s beautiful writing rather than engrossed me.

“Stranger, whoever you are, open this to learn what will amaze you.”

I did struggle quite a lot reading through the middle section of Cloud Cuckoo Land, and I won’t lie that I’ve thought of putting it down for good several times. But just like the strong first quarter, the final 20% of Cloud Cuckoo Land delivered a strong conclusion. Although I liked it, I’m confident that many readers will love it more than I did.

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

Anthony Doerr has created a story of a man seeking to become a bird an enjoy an idyllic existence, by a fictional Diogenes, that surfaces in the fourteen hundreds in Constantinople, present day Idaho and an intergalactic spaceship in the future. You have to wonder how these disparate time frames can coalesce into a cohesive story. Doerr makes it work with five points of view and a translation of the ancient text to move the stories forward.

The book crosses genres including historical fiction, crime fiction and science fiction to unite in literary perfection. From Anna, an orphan who finds solace in reading, stuck in Constantinople during the siege, to Omeir, a cleft palate teen, who has a way with oxen, recruited to help pull the instruments of war to overtake the city, to Seymour, a seventeen year old who tries to bomb a library in Idaho where eighty-six year old Zeno, the translator of the text is leading a group of students in producing it as a play, to Konstance, a fourteen year old hearing the story from her father on a spacecraft, their dreams, hopes and dangers they face interconnect with the stories and lessons that unfold into a stunning conclusion. Enjoy.

That you NetGalley and Scribner for the advance copy. This is an honest and independent review..

Is it sci-fi? *Kinda
Is it historical fiction? *Some of it
Is it a call to action on the environment and an exploration of the connection between humans and the environment that is collapsing? *That too
Is it a week worn piece of fiction that leaves you thinking and weaves together the lives of disparate protagonists and one (fictional?) story to create something greater than the sum of its parts? * Definitely.

Cloud Cukoo Land by Anthony Doerr is a complex book with a message as deceivingly simple as the riddle which forms a turning point in the story. It is a book about finding your place and yourself. It is, ultimately, about life.
The main characters slowly build as Doerr jumps from a young girl on a space ark hurtling away from Earth to a 15th century boy with a cleft palate, to a old Greek man, to a modern young boy (with autism?). We watch as each of these characters move their lives and eventually see what corrects them and in some ways how we are all connected.

I admit that the cook started a bit slowly for me, but by the time ask the characters had been truly introduced, I was hooked. I recommend this book to anyone who is willing to see the world through eyes not their own.

Thank you to the publisher (Simon & Schuster) and Netgalley for the chance to read an advance copy of this book.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr is a well-written and engrossing read with well developed characterizations. Well worth the time spent reading.

I am absolutely enraptured! I am almost rendered speechless! Cloud Cuckoo Land deserves to be exalted atop a cloud of literary prestige with the best books ever written for company because it is simply remarkable. Phenomenal. Exceptional.

I am losing my mind because all I want to do is settle into this novel's spine and stay there, forever. I want to bottle its perfection, open it only so I can soar back into its gossamer depths again and again.

The lush, philosophical prose! The themes! The riveting character histories and connections! I don't even know where to begin, honestly.

Doerr has exceeded his best here. Better than All The Light We Cannot See, I'd argue, which won the Pulitzer.

He has created an intricate tapestry in this novel that not only threads together the past with the present, and the present with the future, but he also transcends genre - quite literally treading across multiple different ones on a trapeze - to underline the enduring, transportive power of the written word. He provides stirring commentary on reading, on learning, on the ability to imagine trekking across mythical worlds. More than anything, though, he writes about books. About libraries. He writes about the preservation of stories and how they can ricochet from one century into the next, giving comfort, providing escapism, provoking creativity, and instilling hope for a better tomorrow in the people who read them.

The true mastery of this book, at least for me, is the way in which Doerr flushes out five different narrative perspectives in three separate time periods. There's Omeir and Anna in 1450's Constantinople, Zeno and Seymour in present day Idaho, and Konstance who's aboard an intergalactic shuttle called the Argos in the future. It's a lot to balance. It's even harder to weave all of those cross-genre threads together in a manner that's both narratively and thematically cohesive. Yet, again, the author manages to do so with tender, thoughtful skill.

Each character, every storyline, draws readers in to expose profoundly human longings, successes, mistakes, and warnings. Everything stokes, stirs. There's not a single element that fails to resonate in some way.

The overall effect is simply breathtaking because the characters appear to be unconnected in the beginning. Their journeys seem to be separate. Divided. Yet it was so easy to get swept up in Konstance's feelings of isolation, in Omeir's sense of shame or "otherness" because he was born with a cleft palate. I enjoyed being along for Anna's ache for knowledge, for Zeno's search for identity, for Seymour's Trustyfriend adventures and Save The Planet extremism. I grew attached to them all. I cannot tell you how many times my heart twinged in my chest or tears pricked the corner of my eyes because of all they had experienced or were suffering.

It felt like I was gifted five independent stories for the price of one.

It also seemed impossible at first that these people - who are separated by age, race, gender, time period, and experience, among other things - could have anything in common, but they did. They do. Over the course of the story the author slowly peels back the layers. It's such a delicate, absorbing unraveling, too. Little by little, piece by piece, he unveils how every one of them has been touched by the magic and perseverance of one ancient text.

It's so, so moving! There's no way to predict in what ways the past, present, and future will connect let alone how certain characters' storylines will converge. I'm still marveling about how it all comes together in the end.

I don't rate many titles 5 stars but this one buried its talons in deep, transported me to a pantheon of imaginative awe. I cannot stop thinking about it, dreaming about it, or screaming about it to anyone who will listen.

That's how much I loved it.

That's how deeply it's woven around the bedrock of my soul now.

Overall, Cloud Cuckoo Land was such an emotionally propulsive, imaginative, examining, metaliterature triumph in storytelling that I would dump an entire thesaurus worth of commendation on it if I could. I'm floored by how incredible it was. One of the best books I've ever had the privilege to read.

In fact, if someone were to ask me if it's "really that good" I'd have to say, no, it isn't, it's a million times better than you could dare to dream or imagine - so what are you waiting for? Fly like the bird Aethon wanted to be and procure yourself a copy already!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Reading Cloud Cuckoo Land gave me that wonderful feeling of settling in for a good story in a favorite reading spot where nothing disturbs you so that you are completely transported to another world. I wanted to savor it; but towards the end, I couldn't put it down. The story itself is intricately plotted, and you'll just have to trust Anthony Doerr that it will all come together. There are five main characters: Anna and Omeir whose stories take place in Constantinople and Bulgaria in the 1400s; Zeno and Seymour in Lakeport, Idaho in 2020 although Doerr tells of their childhoods throughout the book; and Konstance aboard the Argos traveling towards a new planet sometime in the future. They are all tied together by an ancient Greek manuscript in which Aethon, a foolish, old man tries to get to Cloud Cuckoo Land, a magnificent city in the clouds built only for birds. I love books with a large cast of authentic characters with multiple points of view and a nonlinear storyline, and Cloud Cuckoo Land surpassed my expectations. I cared about all of the characters and can't say that I had a favorite. The chapters were short and jumped from one character to another. The tone was moving, sometimes silly, sometimes heartwrenching, addressing sobering issues but ultimately hopeful. The writing style was engaging and lush, and I felt as though I was experiencing what Anna, Omeir, Zeno, Seymour, and Konstance were seeing and doing. I loved Cloud Cuckoo Land!

I thought this was a good next book from the author of all the light we cannot see. I like the multiple time periods and character perspectives. It kept the book moving and kept my interest. I would recommend.

I never would have believed that I would love a book that contains a Greek fable, the Greek language, the fall of Constantinople, climate change, the Korean War, space travel, a boy on the autism spectrum, the importance of the printed word, the past, the present, and the future, but Anthony Doerr combines this and more into the best book I have read in a very long time. The author has created a masterpiece that will capture readers and stay with them. This is a book for readers who love words and books and how they affect lives of all kinds.

Wow, what a book! Cloud Cuckoo Land is absolutely fascinating. I'll admit, for most of the book I was wondering how the various characters and timelines were going to intersect - 1450s Constantinople, 2020 Idaho, and the future in space - but, when things came together it was so satisfying!

Anthony Doerr has proved once again he is a masterful writer. There is so much imagination in this, mixed with a bunch of history, current themes of global warming too. It may sound all over the place, but I promise, it's so worth it!

This is a book I'll happily visit again.

I am Aethon, a simple shepherd from Arkadia, and the tale I have to tell is so ludicrous, so incredible, that you’ll never believe a word of it— and yet, it’s true. For I, the one they called birdbrain and nincompoop— yes, I, dull-witted muttonheaded lamebrained Aethon— once traveled all the way to the edge of the earth and beyond.

...

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I know I will be one of the rare reviewers that didn't love it. The writing is beautiful and lyrical. This is a story where there are 3 main timelines and multiple POVs, loosely connected by an ancient Greek fable.

Here's the biggest issue for me. This didn't feel like a cohesive story. I enjoyed bits of each of the mini-stories, my favorite having to be Konstance in the future. If this was a book of short stories, i might feel differently. The big issue with multiple timelines and POVs is that some are better than others. I also found myself confused, and the story was difficult to follow. If I wasn't reading this to review, I'm not sure I would have stuck with it. Maybe this just isn't my type of book, and that's ok.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

An extraordinary novel! It took me a while to become immersed in this novel, which switches characters and time periods without any initially apparent logic, making it difficult to fully engage with the characters. But by nearly the half-way point, I was deeply immersed and glad I'd stayed with it. Somehow Doerr anchors a story that travels through centuries, and into the future, with characters that are specific and memorable - from a tender-hearted boy born with a cleft palate and a poor adolescent girl with a yearning to read, both caught up in the siege of Constantinople, to a troubled teen agonized by the demise of the natural world and a closeted GI-veteran in present-day Idaho, and an adolescent girl on a spaceship bound for a new planet. This is a story of connectedness - through time and human nature - and about the stories that guide us and are ultimately all that is left. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.

Anthony Doerr Is a writer who just keeps getting better. I have read several of his works, including Pulitzer Prize-winning All the Light We Can Not See, but I was still not prepared for the power of his latest book, Cloud Cuckoo Land. This is a story that presents multiple plots through a variety of times and places with seemingly tenuous connections. We follow children and adults from the mythic past, from opposing sides of the Fall of Constantinople, through the harsh imprisonment of the Korean War, as well as events of recent times focusing on environmental issues and then leap ahead to a future of space travel and escape from Earth. At first it is hard to keep the characters in their different settings straight but gradually the individual personalities become clear and we feel a sympathy for the challenges each character faces in his own world. One thread that connects the disparate parts is the telling of a mythic story of a quest and metamorphosis shared in different sections within a family or among travelers or with new friends. The origin of the story is uncertain, the manuscript faded and perhaps out of order and the meaning obscure, but the reader quickly understands that the search by the fool of the narrative is a metaphor for the search we all undertake as we attempt to find our place in the world. The power of story and the preservation of knowledge is further emphasized by Doerr’s dedication, “ For the librarians then, now and in the years to come.” What reader can’t embrace this? A truly, wonderful story that offers us hope from the ashes of tragedy.

4.5 I just loved the minute that all the pieces of the story came rushing together. It was very inventive and original and made for an excellent getaway from reality. The only thing I would change is finding out what happens to Zeno so early in the books. I spent the whole rest of the book worried about it. I totally get why the author put it where he did because if you blink you miss it. Again, a masterful tale, one that will stick with me for a while.

As an aside, being a librarian made reading the Seymour portions very very hard.

Anthony Doerr is one of my favorite authors. The book starts slow and builds up. I did not know what to expect. The book presents several story lines in different time periods. Each narrates the story of a child, or an adult trying to make sense about the world around them. I kept wondering how the author was going to bring the stories all together. In the end, he did it successfully. My favorite story is the one about Konstance and the Argos traveling through space. The ending of that story line is totally unexpected. I did find the jumping from one story line to another at times distracting. The book is beautifully written. I read an advance copy and want to thank Scribner and NetGalley for making it available. I do plan to get a copy when the book comes out in the fall.

This was not a book I would normally gravitate towards based on the synopsis, but gave it a shot given how much I loved the author’s previous work. Spanning across different times, settings and characters, this was quite an ambitious novel. It took me a good quarter of the book to really get a feel for each of the characters and their storylines, but well worth pushing through. Cloud Cuckoo Land was complex, clever, and very unique.

I was dubious Doerr could outdo himself after ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, but this sublime novel delivers. A gorgeous story (or three) about what connects and outlives us across centuries, countries, and (maybe) planets. I read the entire second half in a single sitting, unable to put this down when the story both came together and turned where I didn't expect. Will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Anthony Doerr’s latest novel, about the written word and what it can teach us about ourselves and our connection to the natural world is dedicated “For the librarians then, now, and in the years to come.” It weaves together several centuries and places (real, virtual and mythical); underlying it all is a fable of a man searching for happiness and what happens when he finds it. The play rehearsal set piece is a highlight and sets the tone for the rest of the book.

I found the eco-anxiety theme too obvious, and at times the bird/flight symbolism felt overused, but these are minor difficulties. I don’t hesitate to recommend this creative and well-written novel.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to review the ARC via Netgalley.

Wow. I never got around to any of Doerr's fiction (I did previously read [book:Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World|137852]). This is amazing. Perfect for readers who loved [book:The Bookman’s Tale|16158563] and were disappointed by [book:People of the Book|1379961].

There are five characters in four timelines. Frequently, with so many moving pieces, it feels like the author is holding back on purpose, keeping the reader in the dark; that's never the feeling here. Information is shared in perfect order, at just the right pace. The reader feels confident that the link between all these people in these far-apart places will be made clear.

A historical timeline, a futuristic timeline, modern rural America, the Vietnam Conflict-- this book has something for almost everyone. A great pick for book clubs!