I finally finished this book. It took awhile, even though it was a book I was highly anticipating. It was good. I didn’t love it, but it was good.

There were parts that were slow for me. This book is told from multiple points of view and some were stronger/more interesting than others. I loved the idea of this book. I’d even say certain aspects of it were brilliant, like the twist at the end. I did not see that coming. My jaw dropped. I wish there was a little more explanation about that and maybe a little bit more about what happened to that particular character at the end.

I do wonder about the author’s choice to make Seymour a neurodivergent character and have him do what he did. People who are different already face a lot of stigma and are already feared. I don’t think it was necessary. If that aspect might bother you, you may want to choose a different book.

I did have a hard time connecting to some of the characters in this one. Maybe that’s what made it feel long. I also had a hard time connecting to the story that connected all the other stories. It seemed a little random for so many people to be so invested in it. I guess I got the point of it in the end, but it took awhile to get there.

I think there are some readers who will love this book. It was good, but it did not quite meet my high expectations.

Thank-you Netgalley, Scribner, and Anthony Doerr! This ARC was provided for free in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fantastic, moving, amazing! I cannot say enough good things about it! I never wanted it to end.
Anthony Doerr has proven himself to be a very versatile writer. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and enjoy this wonderful book!

It’s amazing how a book can affect different people at different points in time.

We follow Anna who finds the story of Aethon, who longs to be a bird. She reads this story to her ailing sister during the siege of Constantinople. Omier is outside the village not knowing that his and Anna’s paths will cross and what role this story will play in their lives.

Five hundred years later, we find Zeno at a library in Idaho leading a group of kids in a dress rehearsal for a play based on an adaptation that Zeno was able to transcribe from documents that had miraculously for five hundred years. They have no idea that Seymour has placed bombs in the library.

And then we get a look at Constance who lives in the future and discovers the story of Aethon while being under quarantine.

I really enjoyed the characters and getting to see how the same material touched each of their lives. The story of Aethon was such a good story. Everything just worked so well together.

I was provided this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.25-4.5⭐️

Epic in every sense of the word (this is a 600+ pager, but honestly it went really fast to me, due to many chapters within chapters, so there are a lot of empty pages), this ode to books and the power of story follows three timelines and Doerr’s ability to capture each with originality and realness is amazing. Comprised of what-we-now-call Constantinople of the past, Idaho of the present, and a spacecraft of the future, it shares how an ancient text called Cloud Cuckoo Land makes its way through time, enlightening so many with its main message: Life, with all its imperfections and heartbreaks, is more vivid, more fun, more amazing, and filled with more love than the banality of perfection. And, honestly, isn’t that the #1 message of all?

Although it's technically long, the story flies by, with each narrative expertly weaved together. I laughed, I cried, I cringed, I hurt. Each character is vividly drawn, with Anna and Zeno particularly grabbing my heart and not letting go. Although the message is simple, the parts of the stories surrounding it are not, and Doerr's ability to create fully realized characters awash in complexity is as on-point as ever. This story is an epic that everyone should read, especially those who love books. Highly HIGHLY recommend!

Anthony Doerr can tell a story like no other! Complex and interesting characters spanning the globe and the centuries, it's a beautiful book. .

I was really disappointed by Cloud Cuckoo Land. I expected more after reading the author's All the Light. Just couldn't get into it. After about 100 pages, I gave up trying to tie all the different scenarios together.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is made of 5 different POVs clustered around 3 time periods: a girl named Konstance on an interstellar ship in the future, Seymour and Zeno in the 20th century, and Anna and Omeir in the 15th century during the siege of Constantinople. The stories are eventually (tenuously) connected.

It's a charming ode to the written word, librarians, and the interconnected nature of humanity from dedication to the end. I found how the stories converged and the ending rather disappointing, but the lovely writing made me enjoy the book despite that.

Anthony Doerr clearly has big aspirations in this novel (critics might argue, chutzpah). His narrative encompasses a wide sweep of history; he embraces an equally wide sweep of literary history and art forms; he uses a variety of narrative techniques/tricks; and he invites (demands?) evaluation as a storyteller as his narrative emphasizes the importance and influence of storytellers, books, and libraries. Although it is a 600+ page high wire act, the novel works. Along the way, he digs deeply into a number of societal issues including war and peace, climate change, and the future of technology. Doerr also causes us to reflect on how much of our literary heritage has been lost—and the importance of preserving the remainder.

One word of warning: Doerr uses cinematic cuts between various time periods/story lines throughout the novel, which make it difficult to follow at first. However, in this case, perseverance is rewarded. The various stories lines take on a rhythm and connections between the story lines become clear as the narrative moves along. By the way, I will not spoil the story, but I will say that one of the lines in the publisher’s blurb is a lie. (Read the novel and see if you can tell me which one.) However, this is one novel that does live up to the hype. “Read form the book all you wish…but if you read to the end…you will never…be able to return to your prior form. Decide.” Check it out.

Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

This was a very complex novel and a lot longer then I anticipating. I loved the concept and message of the book. It does take awhile to learn the characters and get used to all the different points of views.

I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have not read any of Doerr's previous novels; I was drawn to this one because of the mention of libraries and librarians, as well as the similarities to one of my favorite novels, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. This novel is well-written with lovely prose; it moves through several historical periods and into the future with engaging detail, but it does it soooooooooo slowly. The middle section of this book -- up until about 60 or 65% of the way through -- was a slog, to be honest; I didn't feel invested in all of the character arcs enough to read through the minutiae of their everyday lives until I finally got to a point where the different threads of the story started finally coming together. In terms of personal preference, I liked Zeno and Konstance's stories the best.

I don’t often give books 5 stars,…but this one was special. It took me a long time to read,, and a long time to write a review, for different reasons.
Sometimes, when a book is so exquisitely written i want to savor the words and appreciate how they are put together, go back and re-read sections to make sure I got it all, and only then, move on. Then, it takes a while to put my swirling thoughts into cohesive words that will do the novel justice. This is especially true in a book that is so unique that I can’t rely on tropes and familiar examples.
Cloud Cuckoo Land isn’t a leisurely read, it’s not an easy, pick it up and put it down story. There are three main narratives that comprise the novel - although they seem very disparate, they all eventually do converge into one cohesive storyline. As a reader you just have to hang on, focus, and enjoy the ride, trusting that it will all come together in the end.
I can’t compare this to any other book I’ve ever read. I found the characters compelling, each storyline unique and interesting, and the package as a whole left me thinking about the characters, yet with a sense of fulfillment and completion. There is a message in the book … all rods lead back to the importance of protecting your environment - however that is defined - but there’s no preaching or in-your-face proselytizing.
There is one thing I found as a slightly loose thread … I’d have appreciated a bit more of Konstance’s story after “the incident” (don’t want to write anything else … don’t want any spoilers). I would have liked to see how her integration was achieved. Otherwise, this was a wonderful escape for a few afternoons and I look forward to the author’s future works of art.

Cloud Cuckoo Land shifts between five characters: Konstance, Zeno, Seymour, Anna, and Omeir. Many years in the future, Konstance has been living in a space ship called The Argos her entire life when she faces some challenges. In present day, Zeno and Seymour are from Idaho and are grappling with life's losses. In the 1400's, we have Anna and Omeir in Constantinople who are in the midst of a battle.

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.

I struggled with the middle section and honestly jumped around a bit to see how it all ended. I know most others loved it.

If you were a fan of Doerr's "All the Light We Cannot See" then you may have been anticipating this new novel as much as I was!

Set in three very different times with an ancient story weaving them all together, you meet a variety of characters that seem like they don't intersect. Give them time and they will. This is a beautiful story about how books and tales weave our lives together with the past and the future.

I will say it started slightly slow because you need to meet all the people. Don't be discouraged, it is totally worth the build up!

After spending weeks anticipating Cloud Cuckoo Land, and then months finally reading it, I have successfully finished it! And what a journey it has taken me on!

Following from the perspectives of multiple people throughout time, we track the journey of one book and the effect that the stories have on their lives. This sometimes inspires characters to branch into getting an education, understanding war, but always in changing their humanity in some extraordinary way.

This reminded me of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, one of my favorite books of all time, for how everything is subtly tied together. I went in familiar with Anthony Doerr's goregous writing style, but I don't think I was prepared for just how much of a slow burn this book turned out to be.

Starting off with a literal explosion, this book quickly shifts between at least 5 POVs, sometimes abandoning the story just as the pacing is picking out. This works successfully for me when the story is limited to 2-3 POVs but having as many as this story did made it very easy to set the book down and walk away for a bit.

HOWEVER, as stated before, the writing is next LEVEL! The prose Doerr can draw out is so stunningly beautiful that I went through multiple post-it notes packs in my read through.

While I wish that the story had been more connected and that the pacing was picked up with less characters, I did enjoy Cloud Cuckoo Land and am still interested in picking up more by Doerr in the future!

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

I have started and stopped Cloud Cuckoo Land numerous times. This was a difficult read for me because of the multiple POVs and the nonlinear timelines. The story takes place in a span of over 500 years; past, present, future. The story was beautifully written which can not be expected from Anothy Doerr. “Sometimes the things we think are lost are only hidden, waiting to be rediscovered.” I mean, come on! This is a great quote and there are many like this to pick from.

I wanted to like to more than I did, but I will give it another chance soon. I now know that I need to give this book my full attention, something that didn't happen during the summer and holiday season. I have hope that the next time I read this book, I will change my mind.

“Hope is the pillar that holds up the world.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

OK, I'll admit it. I'm probably the only person in the world who hasn't yet read "All the Light..." So I wasn't sure what to expect. And I was a more than a little apprehensive about the multiple time lines. This is an amazing, gem of a story, exquisitely told. Just read it.

Three stories connected by a fable - Anthony Doerr has crafted a masterpiece with Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I have tried to think of how to describe this book ever since I finished it, and I continue to come up with descriptions that don’t do it justice. So I’ll just say this: there are three expansive stories in three different time periods that are all connected by a story. I didn’t know what was going on for a while, but once the thread began connecting, I loved the investment of time I put into it. It’s easily one of my favorite books this year.

I really liked this book. It did take a little while to get into the story as it was a slow start. I loved how the ending tired all the different story lines together.