I liked this book WAY more than I expected to. I was among the few who did not like All the Light We Cannot See (found it SO Boring). I really had no idea what to expect from this book, with elements of historical fiction, realistic fiction, and science fiction all wrapped into one. Somehow it worked! It isn't until about 1/2 way through the book that you start to see how the three stories come together, but then they all do, almost perfectly. I will admit that the historical piece was my least favorite and did get a bit bored during those parts, especially in the beginning, but the present-day and future storylines had me hooked from the start. It's the type of book that I'd like to reread to see what I missed the first time.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr is an absolute treasure! I was fascinated by the magic and complexity of this story. I was immediately drawn into every story and eager to see where everything led, The writing is magnificent. eloquent and lyrical. I was a touch let down by part of the ending feeling like it ended too soon. And for a 600+ page book, I think it could have gone on a bit more to give us more detail about one particular character. I was heartbreakingly drawn into and invested in each and every part of the characters' stories, though. This is one of my favorite reads this year.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is my favorite read of 2021. It very much reminded me of Cloud Atlas and Ghostwritten by David Mitchell, two of my all time favorites. I loved how the fable was intertwined into all of the stories. This book is a symbolism-lover's dream.

Although I was interested in each of the story lines in this book, and appreciated the chapter titles which told which character the chapter centered around and the time/place it occurred, I struggled to connect the story until about midway through the book. I'm sure if I went back and read it again, I would find many details that I missed but now recognize since I know where the story was going. It was creative and enjoyable, but it took a little effort for me to push though at the beginning.

I am always a fan of the oddities and am especially fond of David Mitchell so I felt that this book was right up my alley. I was drawn to the non-linear presentation and the different storylines initially, however really struggled to even grasp what was going on with each one and what picture they present as a whole. It became a little clearer towards the very end, however. I thought the characters and situations were individually interesting yet found the overall encompassing book to really be a disjointed mess. I had to keep taking breaks from reading this and had to encourage myself to continue on. I came extremely close to just giving up because I felt that the book would not get me where I needed to go. I am not a fan of books that require me to study or take notes to understand the storyline and to keep things even remotely straight. I am not looking for a task. I enjoy books that I can delve into and become absorbed into the story. This was not it, sadly. I do want to give this author's first book a try eventually. I feel the writing is good. This one just comes down to clarity and getting that story to the reader. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

WOW!!! 5 STARS! "Stranger, whoever you are, open this to learn what will amaze you."

1- Connection to characters: Cloud Cuckoo Land has three different time lines and five main character points of view. Anna and Omeir in the past, 500 years ago. Zeno and Seymour in Idaho 2020. And Konstance in the not-so-distant future living on an interstellar ship.To start off, I had a VERY hard time keeping all of the character's stories separate and understood. But by the end I did not want any of the characters to switch off chapters and I was so INVESTED in all of their personal journeys and stories.

2- Setting: It's been two months since I finished Cloud Cuckoo Land and I can honestly still envision the settings clearly. This is the first book in a while that I didn't just skim through.

3- Story Line and story itself: I LOVED how they all connected!! This is such a read for book lovers and shows us how much written word means and how far it will travel. It also exacerbated my love for libraries! "Questions Answered Here."

4-Lesson/life changing/ or eye opening: As I said it's been two months since I finished this book and I still think about it. SO MANY great lines. Again, it was hard to get into each character's story to begin but then they all started clicking. I already cannot wait to reread it again some day.

5-Story telling and narration: Anthony Doerr is an AMAZING author!! This is my first book of his and it will definitely not be the last. So much realness and so much that I felt I connected to inside each character's story.

Other highlighted quotes:
"that reflects our vast interconnectedness--with other species, with each other, with those who lived before us and those who will be here after we're gone.
"Repository," he finally says. "you know this word? A resting place. A text-a book-is a rising place for the memories of people who have lived before. A way for the memory to stay fixed after the soul has traveled on."
"there is no bad weathers, only bad clothes"
"What you already have is better than what you so desperately seek."
"We're never apart, I'm in the sky, and you're in my heart."
"A story is a way of stretching time."
"He that knows all that learning ever writ, knows only this--that he knows nothing yet."
"In much wisdom is much sorrow, and in ignorance is much wisdom."

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doeer celebrates the love of stories over the span of several centuries. Three separate story lines – past, present and future – are linked by a seemingly ‘lost’ text from ancient times. The characters all share a love of reading, knowledge and oddly, nature. (I truly cared about the owl and oxen)

It takes a little while for the stories to come together and the structure of the novel is slightly confusing at first, but once all the pieces start to come together, I couldn’t stop reading to see how each story connects.

Similar to Cloud Atlas, once this Russian nesting doll of a novel came together I was truly in awe. One of my favorite novels of the year. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I was really excited for this book because I loved All The Light We Cannot See, but it just felt difficult to get into, however, I know my opinion is not the majority. Grateful for the opportunity to read it!

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Once again Anthony Doerr transports the reader into different lands and time periods. The book alternates between the title story, translated by Zeno Ninnis, a character that is followed over his lifetime and has a pivotal role in the modern conflict taking place in the small town, Idaho library. Parallel stories follow future space travel in search of a healthier planet and an orphan who survives the siege of Constantinople. The ancient story of Aethon’s quest is interwoven through the various stories, giving solace to the sick, to the tired and to future generations.
Doerr’s descriptive writing is well done and the intersection of the characters was interesting.
#netgalley

Another absolutely wonderful novel from Anthony Doerr. The complex plot line, believable characters, interspersed with nature writing all made Cloud Cuckoo Land an absolute delight. What a terrific author!

I did not care for the back and forth of characters and what not. This fell flat for me and I know that's not that majority opinion, I am thankful for the opportunity to read it!

What can I say about this absolute masterpiece? This is a stunning, ambitious novel that celebrates the importance of stories and story keepers.
I found this book to be so life-giving and full of hope. I can’t wait to re-read this one and I made my husband read it immediately after I finished. Dare I say, I like this even more than All the Light we Cannot See….

Unfortunately, this is a 2 star.

I tried to read Doerr's previous book "All the Light We Cannot See" and struggled. This book is similar writing to that which includes: beautiful descriptions, lyrical phrases and all around amazing writing. But I still struggled probably even more that his previous book.

I couldn't connect with any of the characters and the descriptions start to drag on and on leading to it losing it's sparkle. All the Light We Cannot See had the backdrop of World War II so that kept some "action" with the story. Cloud Cuckoo Land focused on humanity with the response to a poem throughout different timelines. This story really had no plot line and felt like lifetimes for me to finish.

I'm starting to think that I'm not the right reader for Anthony Doerr's works.

Having a difficult relating to 2 of the 3 storylines in this novel I found myself disappointed after this author's previous novel. The characters are clearly drawn and are well rounded and dynamic. The reader is easily understanding of their characteristics and the challenges they were given. Sad to say I struggled with this read and went back to it several times before finishing and feeling it just was not for me. The time period very far in the past and very far in the future just turned me off.

Truly one of the most imaginative books I've ever read. I loved the way many disparate story lines came together and the unexpected ending.

I wanted to really enjoy this book, but it just did not hold my attention. I even put it aside and went back to it a month later. Just not for me.

Amazing book! Loved this story and highly recommend it! I look forward to more books by this author!

There are two reasons I wanted to read this book:

1. The author - although I haven't read All The Light We Cannot See, I know it has great reviews and won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and Goodreads Choice Awards Best Historical Fiction. Obviously, Anthony Doerr is a talented and gifted writer to receive these awards.

2. The description of the book: "In Cloud Cuckoo Land, Doerr has created a magnificent tapestry of times and places that reflects our vast interconnectedness—with other species, with each other, with those who lived before us, and with those who will be here after we’re gone."

So off I went on my own journey: 640 pages.

Now some of you may feel this number of pages is daunting; I know I did. But, I thought Why not give it a try? I don't have to finish it if I don't want to. I am happy to report that the pages just flowed one to the next. It was easy, joyful, and wonderful to read this novel. It's a delight to read something this good.

The novel is structured with multiple timelines and protagonists. The characters in the past, the present, and the future all share the same goal of preserving an ancient greek codex/manuscript. The characters are richly developed and I enjoyed getting to know them and their situations. This is definitely a book that will take you away from your present space and put you in another world. I didn't find the writing confusing or laborious at any time. It's just a great story.

Doerr beautifully illustrates how stories can transport us and that words can be magical.

I highly recommend this book.



*A very special thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for this ARC.

Wonderfully imaginative. Like nothing else I’ve ever read. Encompassing past, present, and future. A book about a book. National book award. Best selling author Anthony Doerr (The Light We Cannot See) does it again!

I have taken a minute before writing this review because the book was so amazing in so many ways. I don't normally like books that have multiple time lines (three) and multiple protagonists (five) but this book was different in so many ways. This was one of those novels that is so richly written, so cleverly constructed, so impactful that you can’t stop reading and yet you dread the thought of finishing. I found myself reading portions more than once because it was so beautiful and there were times when I closed my eyes afraid to read what was going to happen next.

I have recommended this book to total strangers already - and will continue to talk about it for a long time!!

Thank you Scribner and Net Galley for the opportunity to read!