I was excited to read this one since I immensely enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See.
This novel was set across multiple timelines with several characters. Initially, it took me sometime to keep the timelines and characters straight (if I were the editor, I would have organized the book chronologically). But, once I mastered that, I really enjoyed the story and how the characters were connected. I didn't enjoy all the stories told equally but all were significant to connecting the dots in the end.

I can't imagine who would not love this book. It links past, present and future in parallel narratives featuring five characters, each a version of a timeless archetype. Each is a wounded outsider who is initiated into a mystery, embarks on a journey, suffers and eventually effects a final homecoming. “Cloud Cuckoo Land” is ultimately a celebration of books, myth and the power and possibilities of reading. By the way, there has been some grumbling about the "trend" of parallel narratives set in long past, troubled present and imagined future. The latest crop was led by David Mitchell and dates back 17 years - surely no longer trendy.

Anthony Doerr takes on a huge subject with this novel. It addresses what a broken world we live in through five different characters all in different places and times. The book even defies categories, as it seems a mix of history, science fiction and fantasy. I will recommend it to my sci-fi reader friends who will likely appreciate and understand it better than I did. While the story and characters were interesting, I felt confused .

Having loved All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, I have been anxiously awaiting his new book Cloud Cuckoo Land. The book alternates between three time periods. My favorite is where the book starts starts in 2020 in the middle of Idaho in a library. I think this is my favorite as I spent a lot of time in a library with my mother and my grandmother as a child.. Eighty-year-old Zeno and a group of fifth grade children.are working on a play about Aethon. We are exposed to Seymour, a teenager, who plants explosives on a shelf in the library. I am immediately drawn into this story. There are two other time periods in the story. Traveling back in time to 1455, we are introduced to Anna, who is a thirteen-year-old orphan who lives outside the walls of Constantinople with women who embroider robes for the priests. She reads a story about Aethon and she wants to be a bird so she can fly to Utopia. Her best friend is Omeir who is a village boy. The final time period finds Konstance who is a young girl on an interstellar spaceship who studies Aethon.

For me, I found the stories interesting but very confusing trying to remember who was who, and then I would get frustrated and start reading a section over. I do like how Doerr connects the stories and shows us how there are connections over time. I do think the book could be shortened by maybe 150 pages. My thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

I had high hopes for this book, but there were some things that were unclear in the resolution of it from my perception, and the different times that sections were written in got a little hard to keep track of, with the start of each new section also being marked by difficult to understand excerpt from a text.

I have been awaiting the next book by Mr. Doerr, the author of Pulitzer Prize winner All the Light We Cannot See, and was thrilled to drop myself into this exceedingly imaginative tale.

Cloud Cuckoo Land, first described by Greek comic dramatist Aristophanes in The Birds, denotes a realm of fantasy, a place of foolish behavior, or impracticality (It was also a realm inside a massive cloud ruled by a unicorn-kitten hybrid named Unikitty in The Lego Movie, but I digress).

This novel follows five different tales, separated by centuries, and connected by one story, Cloud Cuckoo Land—found in the form of a literal manuscript, a translation, a play, and a series of clues. Each of the characters finds something they need from the story: hope, connectedness, a sort of salvation, love, and the power to risk.

The plot unwinds forward and backward in time and touches upon everything from environmentalism to the creation of cannons to overtake an ancient city. The descriptions are rich, the pacing strong, and the characters are deep.

Highly recommend it!

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr is a very highly recommended epic tale of the power of literature across centuries and the interconnectedness of all humans. It is absolutely one of the best books of 2021.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is named after an imaginary world mentioned in Aristophanes's play The Birds and the mythical novel is attributed to Antonius Diogenes, a real writer, in Doerr's novel. In the saga written for Diogenes' niece during an illness, Aethon, a shepherd, dreams of escaping to the cloud cuckoo land in the sky and his desire sets him on an adventure that will have him residing in the bodies of an animal, fish, and bird.

There are five characters, all children, whose lives are centuries apart but are also connected: Anna, Omeir, Zeno, Seymour, and Konstance. Anna and Omeir, are young teens living on opposites sides of the city walls during the 1453 siege of Constantinople. Anna is a failure as a seamstress, but she does manage to find a way to read ancient Greek. Omeir is born with a cleft lip. He and his oxen are drafted to help with the siege. In the 1950s Zeno Ninis is a teen Lakeport, Idaho, who doesn't fit in and enlists for the Korean war. As an adult in 2020 he works on translating the ancient Greek text of Diogenes and works with a group of fifth graders on making it into a play. In the 2000s Seymour is a loner with a sensory disorder which sets him apart, but he bonds with nature which leads him to a radical choice in 2020. Konstance is living on the Argos, an interstellar spacecraft/ark headed for exoplanet Beta Oph2 in the mid-22nd century.

As Doerr alternates between the stories of his characters in short chapters, each of the imaginative, descriptive narratives is equally intriguing and compelling. The connection between characters is not as apparent in the beginning as it will become later in the novel, but have patience because it will all come together in the end. Clearly they are all touched by the tale of Aethon's travels and adventures in Cloud Cuckoo Land. All the characters are outsiders who are resilient and survivors. They manage to endure and even thrive during difficult times and circumstances. I cared deeply about each of these characters and their stories.

The writing is descriptive, dazzling, and impressive. Each character is firmly placed in their own timeline and setting and the settings are vividly detailed. These characters care for the book, the story it tells and the physical copy, and each other. There is a complicated, beautiful, mortal truth about acceptance, preservation, and survival that runs through the novel, connecting the past, present, and future. There is also a strong connection to literature and libraries; the novel is dedicated to "the librarians then, now, and in the years to come."

Literature can transform people, provide hope, and heal us, even in a world full of afflictions and concerns. In a hopeful, realistic, redemptive revelation the truth is exposed that humanity with all of its problems, is what it is and that is enough. This is an exceptional novel with a lasting impact. As mentioned, Cloud Cuckoo Land is one of the best books of 2021.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, Google Books, and Amazon.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for gifting me a digital copy of the new title by Anthony Doerr, who wrote the amazing All the Light We Cannot See - 4 stars!

Told in three different centuries by 5 different voices, all interspersed with a Greek fairytale of sorts about Aethon, a boy who longs to become a bird so he can fly to paradise in the sky. In the 1400s, Anna is living in a convent in Constantinople, behind closed walls, with her sister. Anna learns to read and finds Aethon's story, which she reads to her sickly sister. Omeir is a young boy who is forced from his home and tasked to lead his oxen into invading the city where Anna lives. In the 1940s-present day, we meet Zeno who learned to read Greek in the war and is now elderly and instructing a small group of youngsters at a libraryIn Idaho to perform a play of Aethon's story. There we meet Seymour, a young environmental idealist. In the future, Konstance has lived her entire life on an interstellar ship, Argos, with her family. Her father reads the fairytale to her as well.

Whew - that's a lot! This is a beautifully written, very ambitious novel, that at 640 pages is somewhat daunting. But you get caught up in all these interconnected stories and as the chapters turned, I was anxious to read more about each of these different worlds. To me, this is what reading is about - finding a book that will transport you into other worlds, listening to other voices. This book shows how powerful a story can be, because an old Greek story survived, through the protection and diligence of many individuals, to be such an important part of other's lives.

All The Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, is one of my favorite books of recent years. So when I heard the author had finally written another book, I was eager to get my hands on it. I was not disappointed. This book is a slow burn. There are really four stories going on here. Each storyline is completely different from the others. They take place at different times, and places, and are filled with vibrant characters. You know that they are related somehow, but it takes reading most of the book to understand how all the pieces fit together. I did find it frustrating, at first, because I couldn't understand the structure of the novel, as it does jump around quite a bit. But I stuck with it and was rewarded with a rich tapestry of people, eras, and stories that are expertly woven together by the author.

I think it's worth listening to the audio version over the print version, as it has wonderful production values, and clues that I picked up that I know I would have missed if I had only read the words on the page.

This is a truly special book.

What I Liked:

Audiobook Narration:

The book is narrated by Marin Ireland who does a wonderful job with three of the four stories. She inhibits such a variety of characters from a fifteenth century nun to a sullen modern-day teenage boy. With each person, she finds just the right voice to fit the character.

Cloud Cuckoo Land (in the book) is presented as a story from ancient times that one of the characters in another story has translated. Simon Jones is an inspired choice to narrate this fantastical story within the story. This is the actor who was the original Arthur Dent of BBC Radio's version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and he brings the same sense of wonder and awe into this story. Also, as his style is completely different from Marin Ireland's, it is an easy reminder for the reader that these sections in the book are a fable, and not actually happening.

Characters:

There are so many characters to love in this novel, but Zeno, the translator, is my favorite. We meet Zeno as an old man. The novel opens in 2020, as Zeno assists a group of fifth graders in putting on a play at the local Idaho library. The play is, of course, Cloud Cuckoo Land. As the story unfolds, we learn about Zeno's life as a young immigrant to America, to a POW in the Korean War, to his finding his life's work, translating Cloud Cuckoo Land from ancient Greek.

Zeno has had quite a life, but he has also squandered many opportunities for happiness. As a man learning he is gay in nineteen-fifties America, Zeno has lived with fear all his life. He is constantly trying to find a way to pass as straight. When he meets the love of his life in the POW camp, he can't really bring himself to show his feelings. But all is not lost for Zeno. Through Rex, the man he loves, he develops a love of ancient Greek, and for translating. This becomes his life's work.

I also loved Constance, another character who lives on a space ship sometime in the future. She was born on the ship, and later learns that the journey she is on will take hundreds of years. She will never live to see the final destination. While the ship is filled with all the knowledge of the Earth, will it be enough? If it isn't, how can she find a way to accept this?

I thought Constance (who we see from about age nine through about age fourteen in the story) shows a tremendous range of feelings and maturity. She is faced with the fact that her life is but a stepping stone for future generations. But isn't that what all our lives are, really?

Themes:

The themes of this book concern the enormity of time and how we confront that in each of our lives. The author does this through the vehicle of a book, Cloud Cuckoo Land, that moves across all the stories over hundreds (and thousands) of years. Cloud Cuckoo Land is a story of a journey, rather like Homer's, The Odyssey. It shows a rather silly man dreaming of a better life, if he could just become a majestic bird. The story is filled with magic, and is diverting for the other characters in the other stories who read it. Each person who encounters Cloud Cuckoo Land, comes to cherish it, and fights to preserve it. But can a book, made of paper and ink, survive the ravages of time? Won't all material things disintegrate over the centuries?

For the characters, how do they find meaning when, eventually, everyone is forgotten? What is important to the characters (family, position, wealth) will not continue on after they die. Can anything last over time? I think the author sees stories, and the task of preserving them, as a means to immortalize those who lived before us, and to continue the journey for those who will come after us.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is an amalgam of historical fiction, modern fiction and sci-fi, set in 1300s Constantinople, the mid 20th Century up to and including the present, and the future, on a spaceship.

The story focuses on an Ancient Greek play called Cloud Cuckoo Land- its main character's transformations mirror the transformations of the characters.

Characters from each of the times have their own chapters, with an omniscient narrator. This wasn't so confusing, but a few of the characters could have been left out and the story still would have been complete.

Doerr's superpower is his ability to describe- places, people, times- he can really set a scene- and his ability to create sympathetic characters. There were times where the plot could have picked up a bit, and as mentioned before, there were some characters whose storylines muddled the tale a bit.

I also appreciated the way that he pulled in issues- the environment and gay rights in particular. He managed to make these topics important, but wasn't preachy about them.

All in all, an enjoyable read, and a worthy novel to follow his Pulitzer Prize win a few years ago.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC.

Wow. Sers. Wowsers. Guys, readers, book friends…I loved this book. This review is going to be hard to write because I’m just over here fangirling 😂. Okay though, here goes!

When I first started reading Cloud Cuckoo Land, I have to admit, I felt a little bit like I was reading five separate stories. Really, you are reading five separate stories. Yes you heard that right: 5. They all pulled me in and the whole world would disappear while I was lost in them, but they really were separate. Of course, there were two pairs that were in the same time period, so I knew they’d be coming together, but I still got a little bit lost in my brain sometimes, switching between them all.

BUT. But then, they start to inch closer to each other. A mysterious book/story emerges that’s mentioned in some way in all of them, and you start to see things coming together. I just…I’m dumbfounded as to how an author makes this happen. How does he make them inch together so perfectly?

On top of that, Doerr manages to make each story ridiculously compelling, and you’re like “NO!” when you have to move to another story, even when that one’s good, too. There’s suspense that lingers in between each one. You keep turning pages and you’re just so immersed in the story. It’s one of those all-consuming stories, where you just fall in and forget the real world. SO GOOD.

I really don’t know what else to say, besides please give this book a chance. I’ve heard that some people don’t like the amount of detail Doerr uses in his writing, which obviously I seem to love. If you’re one of those people…we can find a way to peacefully coexist 😂. I just loved this whole dang book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for letting me read this book before it comes out. I feel like I was gifted an amazing opportunity! I will definitely be buying this book for my shelves. 5 big, fat stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC!
What a great story! Loved reading about all the different characters. It was not difficult at all to follow the 3 different timelines. Very thought provoking!
Will definitely get this on audiobook! Looking forward to it.

"What if I don't want to be safe anymore?"
Anthony Doerr
Cloud Cuckoo Land

This book is called a TRIUMPH and I agree!

Three timelines that feel like independent worlds, until they don't. Several storylines going at once, a book within a book, library talk, and a cast of characters, you'll not soon forget.

It's really three or four books in one. Part of it feels like a folklore short story, and another part feels like a science-fiction take on Rapunzel (Cress by Marissa Meyer). There's even a part of the story that talks about reading and books and the freedoms they provide. And running through the entire thing is a very contemporary story with real-world consequences and a truly EXPLOSIVE plot, unfolding achingly, slowly, IN A LIBRARY!! It will keep you rapidly turning pages to get to the resolution.

I call books like this literary candy. I love it. I eat it up

But…

I understand this book may NOT be for every reader.

It's long. It feels like an undertaking because it is.

It's HUGE, in what it is trying to accomplish, and while reading it, at times, it felt like it.

What I'm going to say next might surprise you.

I DO recommend this on audiobook!!

Here's why.

There are two narrators, Marin Ireland and Simon Jones. But when you're listening, it feels like 5-6. Their performances were amazing and helped so much with transitioning from one storyline to the next. I read this title by listening to the audiobook and reading along to the ebook. If there is ANY way you can get your hands on both a physical or ebook copy and an audiobook, I highly recommend it.

This book is immersive, to say the least. Extraordinary doesn't exactly wholly encompass it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime read from a one-in-a-million author.

A story of the transcendent nature of reading and a love letter to the words that weave together to create a language that expresses the stories of our lives.

I loved this book!
I highly recommend this book!

For anyone who loves to read or reads to love.
Out 9.28.21

Thanks to @netgalley and @simonandschuster and @librofm for the advanced copies!

To say that I was overwhelmed and confused 95% of this book would be an understatement. This book had five different POV's that spanned hundreds of years and boy was there a lot of information to wrap your brain around. As you get towards the end some things begin to make more and more sense, but at over 600 pages there was just way more than was necessary to tell this story. These stories are all connected and tell an amazing story. However, this book is not for the faint of heart and not for your average pleasure read. Be committed to hours upon hours of confusion as you try to piece this story together.

I am a big fan of Anthony Doerr and his writing but Cloud Cuckoo Land was not a book that I enjoyed. The writing and descriptions are beautiful but I could not embrace the story. Perhaps when the book is released, I will get a hard copy and try to read it again. Sometimes holding the book in my hand helps me grasp a storyline better if that makes sense.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled for release on September 28, 2021.

3.5 rounded up
I find this book extremely boring, yet highly intriguing at the same time. It has excessive imagery that I find pointless. The story line is good, yet sometimes hard to follow. The present and future are really interesting, but the past is hard to follow and kind of boring compared to the other two stories. I would recommend this book if you know you can get through the boring excessive imagery and really focus on the story because it is really good.

It has to be hard to follow up such a great book...but this one was just not my type. That said- the writing was beautiful but the story left me confused.

Just not my kind of book, too science fictional for me. Very confusing, but that was probably because of my disinterest. Sorry. Had a hard time and just couldn't finish

I loved “All the Light We Cannot See”, so when I saw this on NetGalley, I had to request it.

This book contains 3 easy to follow and yet intriguing and suspenseful plot lines:
• 15th century Constantinople. Anna and Omeir are both from a life of meager means, lives affected in different ways by the Siege of Constantinople.
• 1970-2020 Idaho. We follow the childhood and growth of two men, Zeno and Seymour, whose tragic lives come together in one fateful night in a small town library.
• The future, a mission on a spaceship. Konstance is a young girl born into a futuristic colony whose mission is to reach another planet and restart civilization there. But through exploration on a virtual platform and an emergency situation on board, her life takes on a whole new mission.

And the common thread between these historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and futuristic stories? An ancient text with a story of a man trying to reach a city in the sky.

Friends. I could not put this book down. While I have seen some call it choppy, I was so engrossed in all timelines that I didn’t care when it switched. I needed to know more of everything. It is a VERY unique story, unlike anything I’ve ever read. It pushed the bounds of my imagination. And for that alone, it is a top 5 favorite of the year. Read it with friends- it is ripe with discussion!

Beautifully written and well constructed it is an amazing book
I read Anthony Doerrs prior book All the Light You Cannot See and was so amazed so I was excited to read this book.. I was surprised however how different it was.. It is a mixture of different genres in one book
Almost like reading 4 books in one story
Anthony Doer described it this way "It is a story about kindness and humanity told through children across places and time in the past, present and future. "
I loved the writing as it was so beautifully written however I personally enjoyed his prior book much better as I just couldn't get engaged in this book
I feel I need to give this a 3.5 star book for the writing was excellent but the storyline was so so.