Such a beautiful, unusual multi-timeline story involving various characters loosely connected by an invented ancient tome. I loved the exploration of different time periods and the insight into the daily lives of the different characters. This novel is vastly different than All The Light We Cannot See, but written with just as much accurate historical detail and interesting characters. Highly recommended!

I was hooked from the dedication: to "the librarians, then, now, and in years to come.” It took me a while to get oriented in this story, set in three distinct time frames: 1453, the present, and a time a few decades in the future. But when it came together, it really came together. I just loved the themes: ultimately Doerr's story is about the interconnectedness of all things, the importance of stories, and the SURVIVAL of stories. A winner for readers and lovers of literature.

This long awaited novel from the brilliant Anthony Doerr was absolutely worth the wait. Cloud Cuckoo Land is a tour de force, bringing readers along on a literary ride spanning time and space (quite literally). The story takes us from Constantinople, where we meet Anna, an orphan, and Omeir, a young village boy pulled into a war, to Idaho and a small town library filled with children preparing to put on a play. Finally, Cloud Cuckoo Land transports readers into the future, and onto the interstellar ship Argos, where a young girl is struggling, alone, to put together the pieces of her history and her future. Doerr uses youth and their bravery and innocence to weave together lives across centuries - and remind us the importance of books, stories, and caring for the world in which we live. As expected, the story is told with absolutely gorgeous prose. Cloud Cuckoo Land is a commitment of a novel but one you should not miss.

Anthony Doerr’s seemingly three disparate storylines actually coalesce perfectly in the last third of the novel. Doerr’s short chapters are helpful as the reading progresses smoothly. The aspect of dedicated research of ancient texts is apparent in the Constantinople thread. Doerr is a highly inventive writer and Cloud Cuckoo Land does not disappoint.

At first the book was difficult to get into. I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it as I had his other book All the Light We Cannot See.. However, I stayed with it and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was very interested in the characters and liked how he tied them together towards the end of the book. If you find yourself in this book and feel totally lost, don't give up, it does get better. I definitely recommend this book.

I have really enjoyed this author but for some reason I couldn’t grasp this story. I may have to read it again to get its meaning. But there were parts I found engaging!

Ended up listening to this on audio and really enjoyed it!
The story gave me complete Cloud Atlas vibes.
Plot lines from all eras (including the future) are told centering around this very old story that has been recorded and passed down.
It is a fascinated story and worth reading. Each tale is so unique, I was invested in all of them!

Anthony Doerr just has a way with writing. While this topic wasn’t the most enjoyable for me personally, it was still very entertaining to read! I recommend this one to anyone who loves mythology. I’d be interested to see if this one gets adapted to a TV series or movie!

This book was so dense, I feel accomplished for actually getting through it. Definite first purchase, would recommend for book clubs

My oh my, where to even begin with my absolute love and appreciation for this book and Doerr's writing! Cloud Cuckoo Land was truly a stand out read and one that I won't soon forget.

I really enjoyed how this book read! It's over 600 pages which by itself could feel perilous, but having the short, quick chapters that it did keeps this one moving and creates a unique reading experience. I truly couldn't turn the pages fast enough yet wanted to savor it all at the very same time. There are three distinct stories here with the multiple timelines and often each with at least of couple of POV's. It's a story that spans time and place, yet easy to keep track of and interwoven and connected in ways that won't leave you feeling lost. On top of it all there's a dazzling mix of historical and literary fiction here with some science fiction mixed in. I realize that sounds like a whole lot to take in, but I promise you that with Doerr's writing you are in good hands here. What you get here with this book is magical and oh so rewarding.

A masterpiece in every sense of the word. From the writing to the characters to the setting to the story, this is a book that you will lose yourself in and which will set your imagination and mind soaring. It's a powerful tale of hope and resilience. A story of human connection. Don't miss this memorable read! In fact, I couldn't recommend it more as your next read.

Many thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the gifted e-copy!

One of the most unique stories I’ve ever read. Loved every minute of this book and it was so bittersweet to come to the end. Though I was initially intimidated by the length, it read quickly due to the multiple story lines and the desire to find out how they all connect. The plot was phenomenal, the writing exceptional. Anthony Doerr has just blown me away with his talent. A bookish book for any book lover, I know I’ll be shouting praise for this book from the mountaintops for years to come.

A gorgeous, complex novel that brings five seemingly unconnected life stories together through one ancient children’s story. This book jumps between these lives and thru times that range from contemporary to the 1950s to the 1400s to the far future. How a story written in ancient Greece comes into and influences these diverse lives is simply, brilliant. High recommended.

This is such a long book. There are endlessly beautiful descriptions. The book represents five points of view with an additional story. I had a little difficulty following the six different story lines because they also jump across multiple time lines as well. This is also amplified by the fact that several of the chapters are quite short before jumping time to another plot and time. Not all of the story lines are equally interesting. The six different plot lines do ultimately tie together in the end if you stay with the book. Unfortunately this book did not hold my attention .

This book is well written and has parallel stories that all connect in the end. It had a slow start for me but members of my book club raved about it.

Wonderful book. I didn't think the previous novel could be beat, but it was! I would recommend this novel for anyone who likes a deep, thought provoking read, this definitely isn't an easy one.

Multiple POV books where storylines get connected are my favorite kind of books, but they are also the books that have the most probability to disappoint me. Cloud Cuckoo Land hung between these two for me.

This is an ambitious novel, spanning multiple centuries, countries, genres and characters. For me, the build up and the base of the story took a lot of time, so much so that I almost was going to DNF this book. But after around 2/3rd of the book when the stories start getting interconnected, everything starts falling into place and I loved everything that happened after that point.

The writing is beautiful and this novel is obviously a huge undertaking. The characters are compelling, some more than the others, and the novel is well researched. But I still think that it could have benefited from being edited down. While I liked this one but didn’t love it, I have high hopes from All the Lights We Cannot See.

This is a somewhat slow burn historical fiction that follows five characters and spans three different time periods. The stories languidly work together, woven around a story within the story that they all share in some way. However, each story and POV is really well crafted on its own. There can be a bit of confusion in the construction, as the time periods and POVs do randomly switch from chapter to chapter, but the writing style is just beautiful and there is a lot of atmosphere tied into the narrative.

I was wholly immersed in this story and could not tear myself away from it. The writing evoked a lot of strong emotions from me and I felt very connected to the characters. Their stories were all so gripping and interesting. There is so much kindness and humanity tied up in these characters and I just loved them.

This is perfect for readers who love a blend of historical and literary fiction and who enjoy a complex story. It's a long read, but well worth the investment.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

While I didn't enjoy this book as much as All the Light We Cannot See, which I absolutely loved, I did find it to be an okay read. I found this book to be longer than it needed to be and someone of a challenge to complete. If you keep going it is worth it in the end, but it doesn't start off with a big bang.

This 622 page genre-bending tome takes readers on an epic journey spanning time and place. From the past to the future we follow a series of seemingly separate storylines that coalesce into an interconnectedness that speaks to resilience and hope, two defining traits that are quintessential to the survival of humanity.

It’s a slow-burn style that highlights moments of history that echoes throughout the present, and is predictive of the future. After the halfway point, I could not put it down with an almost determined desperation to piece together the puzzle Doerr created for us. With a nod to the importance of mythology and ethos, Cloud Cuckoo Land continues to dominate my thoughts as I seek out books of similar magnitude.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

Thank you NetGalley for this book!

I was really nervous to pick this one up. I’ve just heard so much about it but was intimidated by its breadth. The length wasn’t an issue. I’ve read several that are over 1000 pages. But just the span of time, the characters, the interweaving plots made me nervous. I took my time with it and am so glad I did. What a spectacular book.

From Goodreads: Thirteen-year-old Anna, an orphan, lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople in a house of women who make their living embroidering the robes of priests. Restless, insatiably curious, Anna learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds a book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. This she reads to her ailing sister as the walls of the only place she has known are bombarded in the great siege of Constantinople. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, miles from home, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the invading army. His path and Anna’s will cross.

Five hundred years later, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno, who learned Greek as a prisoner of war, rehearses five children in a play adaptation of Aethon’s story, preserved against all odds through centuries. Tucked among the library shelves is a bomb, planted by a troubled, idealistic teenager, Seymour. This is another siege. And in a not-so-distant future, on the interstellar ship Argos, Konstance is alone in a vault, copying on scraps of sacking the story of Aethon, told to her by her father. She has never set foot on our planet.

I can’t even begin to explain just how expansive this book is. The story is told with a fable woven throughout, and all the storylines draw back to this fable, but in ways you don’t expect. Even though this one took me a while to get through, it was worth it to be able to savor this one. It’s just such a beautiful book.