"But what's so beautiful about a fool is that a fool never knows when to give up" -Cloud Cuckoo Land

You will be tempted to put this book down. Others who have DNF this book will encourage you to DNF this book....DO NOT fall to temptation to do so. Don't read the reviews of those that gave up on this one. The payoff as this book goes on is 100% worth it (in my opinion). At times this book felt like a chaotic rollercoaster where the bottom just drops out and suddenly you're in another dimension (or in the case another century). You have to be okay with not fully understanding everything as you go and trusting that the author will deliver you to a great, well-rounded story by the end of the hefty book.

True to my style I fell in love with the modern day story in large part to the Octogenarian who befriends the group of elementary students. But I also fell in love with each time period and each character that was featured in this book. It is one I read for book club and it is one I cannot wait to fully discuss and analyze with my friends. So far we have all had the same thought process from WTF are we reading to OMG this is amazing but the details have yet to be discussed.

This is the type of book that will stick with you and make you randomly think back to it days later (and probably farther along than that).

"He who knows all that learning ever writ, knows this, that he knows nothing yet" - Cloud Cuckoo Land

Sometimes an author nails the prose and the story sails beautifully despite a convoluted plot. Other times, an author delivers a delicious plot and the simplistic prose is easily ignored. But, when an author can weave an engaging plot together, all the while masterfully stringing prose like the most beautiful of sonnets, it is simply MAGIC.

From the moment you traverse the opening pages of Cloud Cuckoo Land, the adventure is set to uncover layers-upon-layers of literary goodness. Not only does Doerr have a gift of storytelling, he also has a gift of character-building. Not once was I bored by the characters I met or the places he took me.

With all of that being said though, the pacing of the story left a bit to be desired at times. I would've loved to linger longer with some of the characters and moved along faster with others. But, overall, I didn't regret any moment spent with this cast.

In the end, what stands out to me the most about Cloud Cuckoo Land is the incredibly unique and intricate plot concept. One that Doerr not only managed to pull off, but did so in the most engaging of ways. I don't think this story will be one everyone enjoys, but it is absolutely one I will continue to remember with fondness in the years to come.

I am a bit unsure of how to rate this book. I really think it is excellently written and love Anthony Doerr. I put in for this book because of this. I really knew this was not a book for me. It is an epic fantasy story with multiple time lines that span over 500 years and into the future. There are 3 separate Periods and Genres and then the Fourth is the Book, Cloud Cuckoo Land. It is about ‘a man for 80 years, a donkey for one, a sea bass for another, and a crow for a third.’

Reading this, if I had not put in for this book, I would have known this book would not be for me. So, I am leaving my review as neutral, since I can see others really enjoying it and some like myself this is just not ever, even with note taking, adding in audio, rereading passages, ever going to be a great book for them.

I really liked the concept and the idea of Stewardship. Books matter and bringing them across centuries is so valuable. I story can and does change the world. This I am behind always. Books matter, stories matter, libraries matter, and great storytelling matters.

Thank you NetGalley, Anthony Doerr, and Simon and Schuster for providing me with a copy of this book.

This book takes the concept of two characters slowly making their way towards each other, as seen in All the Light We Cannot See, and upgrades it to include multiple timelines as well. Konstance lives aboard the Argos, bound for a livable planet in the distant future. Elderly Zeno and young Seymour meet in extreme circumstances in 2020 Idaho. Anna survives in 15th century Constantinople and young Omeir and his beloved Oxen are part of the invading army. All characters are united by a lost ancient Greek manuscript by Antonius Diogenes, the titular Cloud Cuckoo Land.

I actually liked this book more than All the Light We Cannot See. I really connected with all of these characters, and splitting the story between three timelines kept my interest up throughout the book. While all the storylines are great, I particularly enjoyed the current Idaho sections. Zeno's life takes on new meaning when he helps a group of 5th grades produce a play based on his translation of Cloud Cuckoo Land. Seymour is a lonely teenager radicalized by an environmental group. While Seymour's actions are terrible, Doerr manages to make him a fairly sympathetic character.

The characters and location are rich and comprehensive and the ending has a great payoff!

Anthony Doerr has written an amazing a gem. At first, the book was confusing, moving back and forth in time and between characters. However, the more I read, the more engaged I became in the intriguing tale.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is a book within a book filled with a cast of well developed characters, each in their own story. The characters are so well developed -- Omeir and his animals, Anna, Konstance, Zeno and even Seymour -- I loved them all, and appreciated how their stories contributed to a satisfying conclusion.

I would not change anything in this amazing book about the past and present. I will soon be reading this book again. It is that good.

Know that whatever I write will in no way do this book justice. The important things to note are that this book is amazing and I'd give it more than 5 stars if I could. It's lengthy (622 pages), but it's a story that is so easy to sink into and let it wrap you up. My full review is on Goodreads, but here's some of it.

I had BIG feelings while reading, especially in the final chapters. My heart felt like bursting out of my chest, I felt both hopeful and sad, and after finishing the book I put my head down, cried, and continued to be emotionally fragile all day. So what I'm trying to say is that the book is INCREDIBLE!

I rarely call a book a work of art, but this one is. The author dives into many themes including man vs. earth, humanity vs. time, the perseverance of the human spirit, our connection to nature, and the meaning of home. It's a coming of age story, against the backdrop of war and poverty, for some of the characters and a redemption story for others.

Parts of the book are complex and parts are simple; there were passages I had to reread multiple times, and lines that I sailed over. Some chapters went straight to my heart, others I'll keep in my mind for a long time, and some scenes were so achingly beautiful or heartbreaking that I was in tears.

Similar to All The Light You Cannot See, there comes a point in this book where the multiple POVs connect in a way that is both mind-blowing and heart-wrenching. If you're like me, you'll feel a giddy excitement when the book starts to come together in ways I didn't predict.

Doerr's novel spans centuries and is a well-researched historical fiction. It left me wanting to look up ancient books! This book is a love letter to librarians, and all protectors of books, stories, and myths. It is a thank-you to the people who have kept our stories safe, alive, and relevant. It is proof that one story can touch the lives of people separated by time and place, and that words are meaningful and hold value.

Not all stories are for everyone, but if it brings meaning or joy to a few, it's worth passing on. On that note, do yourself a favor and get a copy of this book! I know I'll be rereading it and I'll be reflecting on it for years to come.

"He was so concerned about recognizing clever allusions...But whatever this strange old comedy was, it wasn't proper or elevated or concerned with getting things right. It was a story intended to bring comfort to a dying girl. All those academic commentaries he forced himself to read--was Diogenes writing lowbrow comedy or elaborate metafiction?--in the face of five fifth graders...Diogenes, whoever he was, was primarily trying to make a machine that captured a child's attention, something to slip the trap."

So, bear with me here. When I first started reading Cloud Cuckoo Land, I was expecting to find subtle threads weaving between stories. I thought there must be deep meaning hidden within the silly seeming ancient Greek tale, that it must inform the remaining stories in some way, and I even considered taking notes, although I had no idea what I'd write in them. I enjoyed the stories individually, at least at first, but after 100 pages or so these tales just felt like they were dragging on, I didn't feel invested in any of them (except perhaps the young version of Zeno, a prisoner of war falling in love with a fellow captured soldier who teaches him to read Greek.) The rest just felt like it lacked depth, in the same way as the Diogenes story, all a little silly and pointless. And a little before halfway through I considered giving up, because I just didn't feel like I was connecting. But gosh, I'd paid full price for this thing, so I took a deep breath, stopped to read reviews, saw a gushing NYT review and a gushing NPR review, and decided I'd slog on.

And that's when the finally story carried me away, starting with a major event on Argos, the spaceship hurtling toward a distant planet. That story was enough to sink its hooks into me and carry me along and finally got me engaged in all the stories. As I was reading there were many times I thought, oh man, this is silly. But somehow I had to keep reading anyway. This is how All the Light We Cannot See was for me as well, the whole time I was thinking how ridiculously eye-rolly the story was, but I had to keep reading anyway. Doerr knows how to spin a tale, and that, after all, is what this book is about, the power of storytelling, especially stories like this about characters all striving for something, a magical land, a sense of belonging, a distant planet, home, taking many missteps along the way, using stories as comfort and connection.

"That's what the gods do, they spin threads of ruin through the fabric of our lives, all to make a song for generations to come." So Doerr has written a song to pull us temporarily away from our own threads of ruin. Does pure enjoyment in reading make it worthwhile on its own, even if we're rolling our eyes as we read and not really finding the mirrors or windows that make a story "important?" I debated for awhile between 3 and 4 stars, but finally decided that for me, at this time in my life when I'm despairing about so much in the world around me, the fleeting joy of story is enough. I had fun.

A moving novel with three intertwining stories that shows the persistence of life and how stories we tell ourselves help us through.

Unfortunately my copy from NetGalley was compromised so I could not finish until the publication date.
Anthony Doerr has written another wonderful book that uses an ancient tale to bring together five people from different times and divergent places. Each is a young person on a journey, some by choice, others by fate. From Constantinople in the 1400s to Idaho in the 20th century, to somewhere in space in the future, Doerr uses exquisite prose. He weaves a tale that begins as a challenge to the reader to figure out how the pieces fit together. The theme of climate change and its’ consequences is a part of several of the characters stories. The conclusion of each story brings them together through the tale, but not altogether.

This is a beautifully written, complex story that requires the reader to spend the time necessary to fully grasp where it wants to take you. Admittedly, I was slightly confused in the beginning, but as each story unfolds it eventually shows how the multiple story lines intersect. It isn't an easy read, but the payoff is there. I would recommend to anyone who enjoyed the authors previous work, and anyone who doesn't mind investing some time.

"Sometimes the things we think are lost are only hidden, waiting to be rediscovered."

Anthony Doerr has written a masterpiece of a tale, connecting five characters, over hundreds of years through their relationship to a single book. Cloud Cuckoo Land is an ancient story written by Antonius Diogenes around the first century C.E. (Only in the novel. While the author is real, the book was made up.) It tells of a shepherd, Aethon, seeking a magical, heavenly place in the sky, the “Cloud Cuckoo Land” of the title. Each of the five characters are introduced to this story, and we see how it impacts their lives. Each has characteristics that set them apart. But all have lost, or lose, at least one parent.

We meet Konstance, 14, on an interstellar, generational ship, maybe the late 21st century, maybe the 22nd. She is laying out on the floor of a large room the scraps of pages that comprise the book. (Sometimes he [Doerr] would lay out all these micro chapters on the floor so he could see them and discover the resonances between characters across space and time. – from the NY Times interview) She was born on The Argos, and the plan is that she will not live long enough to reach the ship’s destination, but will grow to adulthood and raise a family there, passing down humanity’s culture so that someday, homo sapiens can rebuild on a new, unspoiled home world, Beta Oph2. Hopefully that planet will remain better off once people arrive. She is driven by her need to know, a boundless curiosity, and a willingness to think outside the ship.

Anna is an orphan. In 15th century Constantinople we follow her from age 7 to early adolescence. She and her older sister, Maria, work as seamstresses in the house of Nicholas Kalaphates. It is a Dickensian world of exploitation of diverse sorts. Anna is far too bright to be denied the world of words, and, once exposed to it, she pursues that world doggedly. On her travels through the city on errands she comes across a class of boys being taught Greek, The Odyssey, and attends, surreptitiously. The master agrees to teach her privately in return for modest items. Her literacy makes her a suspect to the adults around her, a criminal to others, and possibly a witch to the most ignorant, but leads her to a ruined library and eventually, to Aethon.

Omeir was born in 1439, like Anna, but with a cleft lip and palate. The superstitious country people in his home town believed him cursed, demonic even, so he is driven out of town, exiled to a remote part of what is now Bulgaria, where he does his best to remain out of sight, to be raised by his grandfather. But Omeir is a survivor. He becomes a marvel at the care of oxen, raising and training two to immense proportions. The team of three are remarkable workers. Downside is that the new sultan demands Omeir, now an adolescent, and his oxen serve in his army. He is planning to lay siege to Constantinople, a city with walls that have withstood such attacks for over eleven hundred years. Omeir will encounter Aethon later.

Seymour does not fit in. He lives with his mother, who struggles to get by on low-wage jobs. Probably on the spectrum, he struggles with more than the usual travails of growing up. He cannot, for example, tolerate loud sound. He cannot or will not remain in his seat at school. The world overwhelms him and when the pressure of it builds too high, he screams, which is not conducive to a successful school life. A class library outing brings him into contact with a whole new world, when the librarian, Marian, (surely a nod to The Music Man) hooks him up with nature books. He finds comfort in the natural world, befriending a large, amenable owl, and reveling in walks in the woods adjacent to his home. We follow him from childhood into adolescence and into his development as an eco-warrior. Seymour is the avatar of Doerr’s concerns about environmental degradation, presenting a generational cri du coeur, however misguided in its application, about the destruction of a following generation’s natural heritage.

We see Zeno as a child. He realizes he is gay at an early age. But it is the 1940s in Idaho, and this is simply not allowed. He has to keep that part of himself hidden. We see him again as a POW during the Korean War, when he learns Greek, and as an octogenarian teacher. He lives in a small Idaho community, and is leading five students in a stage performance of Cloud Cuckoo Land, a book he translated from the Greek, well, from what bits remained of it.

As with All the Light We Cannot See, Doerr’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, his characters here are young. (Not necessarily for the entire book, but for a good chunk) He says writing from a child’s perspective allows one to “to see more nakedly some of the things that we’ve elided or erased in our minds because of age.” (From the NYTimes interview). Each comes to the world with their own personal content, but also with a sense of wonder. Anna is amazed by the vast universe of story that can be reached through literacy. Seymour is dazzled by nature and nature books. Konstance is amazed by the things she can see, the places she can visit, the knowledge she can gain in the virtual library on the ship. Zeno also finds a refuge and a world of possibility in his local library. For Omeir, it is the tales his grandfather tells him when they’re rot trapping grouse that capture his imagination.

While all the characters have their individual stories, Zeno and Seymour’s stories converge in today’s Lakeport, Idaho; (Doerr and family spend a lot of time in McCall, Idaho, a likely model for Lakeport) Anna and Omeir’s stories converge in the siege of Constantinople in the fifteenth century, and all their stories converge on the connection to that ancient book up through the somewhat near future of Konstance’s experience.

It is these connections, these convergences, that provide the structure and core mystery of the book. How does this first century story find its way to fifteenth century Constantinople, to the world of today, and to the future in which Konstance lives? How is it preserved, by whom, and why? Asked about the spark for his focus on the preservation of literature, of culture, Doer said:

"I’m getting close to 50. And though I still feel and behave like a kid most of the time, my eyesight is fading, I can apparently injure myself while sleeping and my little baby boys are suddenly big hairy-legged job-working car-driving high school kids. I’m realizing that everything—youth, hairlines, memories, civilizations—fades. And the amazing technology that is a printed book seems to be one of the few human inventions that has outlived whole human generations. What a privilege it is to open a book like The Iliad and summon tales that entertained people almost 3,000 years ago."

The folks doing most of the preserving are librarians of one sort or another. Each of the characters has a relationship with a librarian, Zeno and Seymour with the librarians in Lakeport, Idaho, Anna with scribes in Constantinople, Omeir with Anna, and Konstance with the AI controller of her ship.

"I hope that my readers will be reminded that librarians serve as stewards of human memory—without librarians, we lose perhaps our most important windows into the human journey. – from the QBD interview"

Part of his growing-up environment was spending a lot of time in libraries as his teacher mom often made use of them as a form of day care for Doerr and his brothers. It’s not like he minded. In fact, he even dedicated the book to librarians.

"They were a place where I felt completely safe. And just the miracle of them, there’s something that – talk about peeling the scales off your eyes. Like, here’s the work of all these masters available to you for free. And you can take them home. – from the NPR interview"

As with All the Light…, Doerr found inspirations for the elements of the book in diverse places. It was while researching the walls at Saint Malo for his prior book that he came across repeated references to the millennium-long impenetrability of the walls of Constantinople, and dug into that a lot deeper. He is also interested in how technology induces change. In All the Light… it was radio. Here it is gunpowder and advanced armaments in the 15th century, allowing a new level of violence in the assault on supposedly impervious walls. In the contemporary world it is the internet allowing in both a world of information and a cannonade of lies and manipulation. He sees the future as being driven by artificial intelligence.

One of the things that most stuck with me was the portrayal of reading, particularly the reading of material to others, as not only an act of kindness, of affection, but also be a source of healing, and certainly comfort. There are several times when characters read to other characters who are ill, to positive effect. We are a species that relies on stories to make sense of our world, and to inspire, to spark imagination. The story of Aethon inspires all the main characters to dream of more, to dream of better, to dream beyond realistic possibility.

Doerr enjoys tossing in a bit of classical reference spice. The ship Argos, of course, recalls Jason and his crew. Zeno is saved by a dog named Athena as Hercules was rescued by the goddess herself. There are plenty more of these.

I would keep an eye out for owl imagery, and roses come in for some repeated attention as well. Walls get special attention. The big one in Constantinople is the most obvious, but Konstance has physical walls of her own she needs to get through. Seymour tries breaching a physical wall, as Zeno tries to defend one. The notion of paradise permeates. The title alone refers to an unrealizable fantasy of heaven. It is the heaven that Aethon pursues. For Zeno it is a place where he can be accepted, loved, while being his true self. Seymour is lured by the promise of a sylvan environmentalist camp where he can embrace nature with others of like mind. A development in his beloved woods is called Eden’s Gate (close enough to make one think of Heaven’s Gate). He and his mother live on Arcady Lane. For Anna it is a dream of a better life outside the city.

How Doerr weaves all this together is a dazzling work of genius. He will leave you breathless, even as he shows you the construction of his multiple threads, bit by bit by bit.

"“That’s the real joy,” Doerr said, “the visceral pleasure that comes from taking these stories, these lives, and intersecting them, braiding them.” – from the NY Times interview"

Mirroring is employed extensively as the experiences of all five characters (and Aethon) repeat in one form or another for them all.

The book lists at 640 hardcover pages. Do not take this at face value. In terms of actual words, Cuckoo Land is about the same length as All the Light. There are many pages holding only titles or section headings. There is a lot of white space. That does not make this a fast read. It would still be around 500 pages if one stripped it down to word-count alone. But it is less daunting than the presenting length of 640 pages. Also, Doerr writes in small chunks. You can always use a spare minute or two to drop in on this book and still get through a chapter or five. There is a reason for this.

"He had hit upon this approach for the most practical of reasons. As a parent, he couldn’t hope to get more than an hour or two of solid work done before having to attend to shuttling the boys to swim practice or some other activity. “I might have stumbled accidentally into that,” he said. – from the NY Times interview"

While there are dark events that take place in this novel, the overall feel is one of optimism, of possibility, of persistence, and of the availability of beauty and hope to all, if only we can keep alive our connections to each other through time and place, keep alive hopes for a better place, for a better, meaningful life, and continue to dream impossible dreams. If you read nothing else this year, do yourself a favor and read Cloud Cuckoo Land, and be transported (no wings required) to a literary paradise by this book, which I hope will be read as long as there are people able to read. It is a heavenly book, and an immediate classic.

"“Repository,” he finally says, “you know this word? A resting place. A text—a book—is a resting place for the memories of people who have lived before. A way for the memory to stay fixed after the soul has traveled on.”
His eyes open very widely then, as though he peers into a great darkness.
“But books, like people, die too. They die in fires or floods or in the mouths of worms or at the whims of tyrants. If they are not safeguarded, they go out of the world. And when a book goes out of the world, the memory dies a second death.”"

Review posted – October 22, 2021

Publication date – September 28, 2021

I received an ARE of Cloud Cuckoo Land from Simon & Schuster, but I first learned of it from Cai at GR, who passed on my request to someone at S&S, who sent me an ARE and passed on my request to the person responsible for this e-galley, who ok’d that too. Thanks to all, and thanks to NetGalley for providing an e-ARE.

The full review, with links, and images, can be found o. my site, Coots Reviews, at https://cootsreviews.com/2021/10/22/cloud-cuckoo-land-by-anthony-doerr/

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr is one of the most beautiful stories I've read in a long time. There are five main characters whose stories are told throughout the novel: Konstance, Zeno, Seymour, Omeir, and Anna. Even though their stories take place centuries apart, their lives are all connected by one magical tale - Cloud Cuckoo Land. In one way, this novel appears to be a simple story, yet it contains layers of depth and tugs at the heartstrings. It is a novel of sadness and loss and of happiness, longing, and contentment. Even though the book is long and jumps between characters and time periods, the stories are woven together in a way that makes it easy to follow and easy to remember. I was sad when it was over. This is a novel that will stay with me for a long time.
Thank you to #NetGalley and to #Simon&Schuster for an ARC of #CloudCuckooLand by #AnthonyDoerr in exchange for an honest review.

This book takes a lot of concentration and a notepad and pen to keep track of characters, settings, and time periods. I was most invested in the story of Seymour and Zeno. The different story lines were very clever with a lot of heart. Great writing again by this author.

Courtesy of Netgalley I received the ARC of Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. This complex novel was like a puzzle with alternating characters and timelines that eventually intersected or connected. The theme of storytelling permeates this book, along with history, fantasy, science fiction, purpose, and humanity. I was enthralled by the thoughtful and thought provoking ideals and the beautiful phrasing. An amazing story!

How to describe this ambitious, doorstopper, genre-bender of a book? Here goes:

Cloud Cuckoo Land combines historical fiction, science fiction, and contemporary eco-fiction with a through-line of Greek mythology for an epic mash-up dedicated to librarians and book lovers.

Can you imagine? I couldn’t, but Anthony Doerr did–and surprisingly successfully. I won’t bother trying to describe each storyline–they’re too disparate-seeming for brief descriptions to be any real draw. Rest assured that they do eventually come together. Doerr will benefit from the trust of readers who loved All the Light We Cannot See–I am one of them, and I considered giving up on Cloud Cuckoo Land early on, but for this trust. Because it was Doerr, I stayed curious about where he was taking it–I may have given up on another author.

He did succeed in drawing me in and making me care about each of these characters and stories (except the Greek myth that connected them. I’m not a fan of mythology and this one seemed particularly ridiculous.).

The myth and some nagging questions left unanswered bumped this down a bit for me (at 640 pages, another few would not have hurt anything). This will not be a book pressed into everyone’s hands, like ATLWCS was, but for a dedicated reader ready for a wild ride, Doerr makes it work.

This is a rich, imaginative epic tale that spans centuries. The major characters are strong and well developed and all connected by a medieval epic poem. Their stories spiral in ever tightening circles and the reader slowly discovers all of their connections. Moving between characters is a bit confusing at times but the story is well worth the concentration.

In the 15th Century a young servant girl finds a story about a young shepherd and his search for Cloud Cuckoo Land. In the 1940’s a boy and his dad move to Lakeport Idaho. In 2020, a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome, threatens to bomb a library. In the future of 2046, a young girl is on a generation ship heading to a new home on a planet like the earth ends up the only living human on that flight. Her only companion is an artificial intelligence call Sybil, who has all of human knowledge stored in her.
The four stories are separate, but they all involve people searching for meaning in their lives and all revolve about the manuscript Anna found in the 15th century. What amazed me most about Doerr’s writing was not that he could write such divergent stories and not confuse the reader, but that he created a book that was like a puzzle, and pieces of the puzzle started fitting together. We are connected and as Doerr so ably shows its book and libraries that make that connection.

Delighted to return to the writing of Doerr again. I was completely enchanted by the past and present story lines in this novel; I warmed to the futuristic plot, but it never gripped me to the same level. I also desperately wish there was a different title - I can't keep this one straight, the order of the words in particular just can't stick in my brain, which makes it much harder to recommend!

This book required patience. Sometimes I wasn’t sure I had the patience to get through this, especially reading it in the ebook format - this one should be held in the hand to flip back and forth and try to get it all straight. It spans several times and places, and follows different characters that are somehow connected. It is a bit hard to explain concisely, but the glue here is a story: Cloud Cuckoo Land. Stories live on and may become interpreted differently, but the power of the story is the heart of the book. It is basically a love letter to stories, books, the written word, libraries and librarians.
I am not sure how you follow All the Light We Cannot See - such an amazing book. Honestly, I didn’t love this. BUT, Anthony Doerr’s writing is beautiful. I should be more patient in my old age, but just when I was invested in one character, it would switch to another. The readjustment was difficult with so many times and places represented.
I really wish that this talented writer would write a novella. I am here for it.
Thanks NetGalley for an arc of this book.

Five characters all loving a single book in their own time. This all takes place in the past,present and future.
Their stories are all so different but interwoven.