I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is a novel about the search for a story....kind of. This novel has multiple timelines, multiple MCs, multiple timelines per MC... Just like, a lot of people and a lot of settings but weirdly not a lot of things happening.

Therein basically lies the problem with this work. It's beautifully written and if all you need to enjoy a book is lyrical prose then you are in luck my friend. BUT if you can only enjoy a book where things actually occur than this is probably a pass.

One LibraryReads selection for September 2021 worth waiting for is CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by Pulitzer Prize winning author Anthony Doerr (All the Light We Cannot See). Once again Doerr crafts a story told by multiple narrators, although in his newest work they live at different times and in different places. Anna and Omeir are alive in the Middle Ages - about 1453 – living around Constantinople so the siege and eventual capture of the Byzantine Empire's capital by the Ottoman Empire is a key event in their lives. War also enters later in the more contemporary story line – stretching through the Korean War and environmental awareness and protest in the 1970s and beyond to 2020 for Zeno and Seymour. A third story thread involves Konstance who is a passenger on a spaceship in the future, heading away from Earth to find a new planet to inhabit. Adding to the complexity, short passages from an ancient Greek text are interspersed. Overall, the writing is exquisite (e.g., "September closes around August like the pincers of a claw"). Doerr's skill at drawing parallels and weaving together the disparate stories will keep readers enthralled despite the length (640 pages – but honestly, barely noticeable in digital format). He raises deep questions about grief and healing, about hardship and selflessness, asking, "Why is it so hard to transcend the identities assigned to us when we were young?" and observing through one of his characters: "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." I was not at all surprised to learn that CLOUD CUCKOO LAND received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. Highly recommended.

An ambitious book that only just makes it across the finish line.

And I mean ambitious! There are multiple characters across multiple places and centuries, all disjointed from the beginning, that come together in the end and get tied up in a neat bow. It's not an easy journey to get there. And I mean a journey for the reader, not the characters.

Some signature Doerr elements are present: short chapters and beautiful descriptions of nature. If you found these to be the driving reasons you loved his previous books, then you'll most likely enjoy this book too. I'm in this camp and enjoyed the book, but only after I got halfway through. The first half feels tedious, but the character building is important and pays off in the end. It doesn't emotionally pay off like a Donna Tart or Kazuo Ishiguro book, or even All the Light We Cannot See, but it doesn't leave you hanging with large plot holes. There's plenty of action, adventure, and mystery in the second half to forgive the first half.

Doerr explores many recurring themes in Cloud Cuckoo Land like survival, loss of family and the ones you love, and the interconnectivity of all things like an ecosystem (many ties to environmentalism). I especially enjoyed reflecting on how stories travel through time and survive. To think about how we enjoy the Odyssey today is a marvel. About everything that had to go right for that story to survive. Oh, and owls! The ever-present owls throughout the story and their obvious reference to wisdom were a little overkill. Like a Where's Waldo with too many Waldos.

There was one element I didn't really understand: the title and the story-within-a-story is full of frivolity, but the other stories are not. All that effort to save what is ultimately a children's tale. Why? Are all stories equal in merit to warrant the amount of work scholars and librarians bestow upon them? Is it just because it's an old story? The connections between all the characters are clear, but the connection between those characters and this story eludes me.

One bit of humor that did not escape my attention: Marian the librarian from The Music Man. Nicely done, Doerr.

All The Light We Cannot See has been on my Want to Read list for a while and I’ve heard many good things about it. When I saw Anthony Doerr had a new book coming out I decided to take the gamble that it would also be good and requested it. I was certainly not disappointed!

I don’t even know how to adequately describe this book to do it justice. It is a story about libraries and generations and fate told through multiple time periods and characters and is just so wonderful. Now at first this was hard to grasp and I was confused for a bit in the beginning. But I am also a new mom with a newborn and generally the only time I had to read was in bed at the end of the night after putting my baby to sleep wondering if he was down for the night or if I would need to console him again. Which is to say I maybe read a few pages before having to tend to him or passing out. With five characters and some with multiple timelines, I had no idea what was going on for the first part of the book.

But eventually I started to recognize and remember the names and realize what this Cloud Cuckoo Land story was that kept weaving in between chapters and I quickly became entranced with the story. We have two characters in the past, Omeir and Anna, two characters in the present, Zeno and Seymour, and one character in the future, Konstance. Konstance and Seymour were my favorite to read while Omeir and Anna weren’t quite as interesting but overall I truly loved this story as a whole.

The way it all comes together in the end is so beautiful and my only complaint was that it was over and I could not read it anymore. I just love how everything wraps up. It is pretty rare to enjoy all parts of a book but honestly I just loved reading this so much exactly as it was. It was pure imaginative storytelling at its finest. I was truly impressed with Doerr and can’t wait to read All The Light We Cannot See.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for an ARC of this book.

Not an easy read but so well written and quite enjoyable. Highly recommend but not a fast read.. Like a slow cooked meal that you come to enjoy

Cloud Cuckoo Land is a thought-provoking read about our place on earth, how we care for each other and the environment, and defining what we value. It's a book about relationships on a broad scale. I would call this novel a blend between philosophy, science fiction, and sociology. I found the story very engaging.

The common thread running through Cloud Cuckoo Land is a fable about a man who is unhappy with his life and is trying to go to a different place in the sky that he's heard is paradisical. He goes through quite a few trials along the way. It could be said this is a children's story, a philosophical allegory, or just an example of an ancient tale. Or you might find themes and items to ponder as you see the fable develop.

There are several stories from different time periods. But because the eras are so different, I thought it was easy enough to follow.

Here's a basic list of primary characters for a cheat sheet:

Anna and Oemir during the siege of Constantinople of 1453.

Zeno and Seymour in Idaho during the present day. Zeno's story also encompasses his time in the Korean War.

Konstance and the spaceship, Sybil, in the distant future where a group of pioneers is traveling to a distant planet.

Each of the characters are unique. Anna isn't your typical Christian girl - she's learned to read Greek and has an active mind. Oemir, born with a harelip, is ostracized by other people and relates to his beloved oxen, caring for them and loving them. Zeno has never fit in with his small community in Idaho and doesn't understand where he fits in the world because people never tell him if he's valued. Seymour is on the autism spectrum and loves nature, in particular, an owl, but he never relates to people very well. Each character duo serves as a contrast to the other. By examining the characters, I felt like I grasped some of what the author hoped to convey. This is a novel that can be read multiple times to understand new layers.

I refuse to spoil this story for you! But I was surprised in the best of ways, and I think you will be too.
I highly recommend this book!

This book was such a marvel to read. Unsurprising, considering how much I loved Anthony Doerr's award-winning novel - All the Light We Cannot See. Doerr's writing is somehow so wondrously magical in such a real, human way that his stories create an impact that I don't think can be found in anyone else's work.

You can really tell how much Doerr loves to story-tell. His craft is beloved, and I could somehow feel that as I read this book. Cloud Cuckoo Land is a magical literary masterpiece that celebrates the power of story by telling the tales of multiple individuals spread out across time and how their lives are - perhaps surprisingly - wonderfully intertwined. It's honestly really hard to describe how this book made me feel, even now - weeks after I've read it - I am still so overwhelmed by the emotions it gave me.

I can say with certainty that Doerr is nothing short of a miracle writer. The way he puts the pieces of his story together - unexpected pieces that you would never imagine could possibly be interconnected - is sheer genius. Maintaining the consistency of his craft all through out is nothing short of impressive.

I am so excited for the world to read this book. Like most if not all of Doerr's works, it is a must read for anyone who enjoys the magic of stories.

❝ The truth is infinitely more complicated, that we are all beautiful even as we are all part of the problem, and that to be a part of the problem is to be human. ❞


Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cloud Cuckoo Land is a book that inspires many, many mixed emotions in me. I thought it started strong, then slowed to a dreadful trudge through filler chapter upon filler chapter, and then concluded with one of the best ties across time and gorgeous, bittersweet, yanking-on-your-heart, never-getting-over-these endings I could hope for. I sped through the last quarter of the book in one sitting, but the middle 50% took me almost a month to read.

So, where did it fall short?

There was just too much and not enough going on at once. Every character had their own unique story, and as soon as you began to immerse yourself in Anna's treacherous journey for those next glimpses of hidden knowledge, or Zeno's aching journey through life and growth and war and love, or Konstance's apprehension-rebellion aboard her dystopian life, you were ripped from it and dropped in the middle of nowhere. And the plot itself crawled forward, despite the countless stories running at once.

I was going to give it a solid 3.5/5 until the last quarter; the ending stuck to me, attaching itself so vigorously that I can't help but give it a 4. Sue me. Anybody starts talking about time and legacies and the connectedness of humanity across generations and I'm already reading through the tears.

The high points of CCL were definitely its characters (and watching the plot come together with that ending— that ending!). Zeno and Omeir/Anna's storylines were standouts to me, with Seymour's being a little iffy (but as I'm not autistic, I can't truly speak on the depiction of such a strongly coded autistic character) and Konstance's being of least interest until around halfway through the novel. I don't need to elaborate on Doerr's stunning prose; it was well-suited to the twists and turns and varying subject matter of CCL. The idea was one I'm in love with, even now, but I think the execution — specifically, the pacing of the storyline and the divisions of the character perspectives — could have been much better.

Final Rating: 4/5

+ Pros:

— gorgeous writing
— vivid, real characters
— relevant themes about humanity and our relationships with nature, with time, and with each other
— the entire last section of the book. i have no words.
— almost made me cry (yeah i said what i said)


+ Cons:

— jarring changes in perspective that often pulled away from the story
— dragged significantly toward the middle

I have not yet read All the Light We Cannot See, I know, where have I been?! Well, I can't wait to read it now knowing what I know about how masterfully Anthony Doerr writes! This book is looong! I am scared of long books! I nearly never read them. So with that said, I'm as shocked as can be that I basically flew through this one. It captured me and kept me coming back. I will be honest, I sort of skimmed the Greek story woven in, but otherwise I found the stories of each of the characters equally impactful. That never seems to happen with books that have multiple story lines, so for that alone I have to give it 5 stars!

✨𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝐖✨

𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐨 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐫𝐫

I finally finished!! Between back to school & this 640 page novel, I thought I’d never finish 😂 I’m honestly still processing this one, but here are my initial thoughts!

Swipe for goodreads synopsis ➡️

👍🏼: The concept of the book was very interesting with the traveling story of Aethon through time periods & seeing how a story is passed on/meaningful for all kinds of people past, present, and future. There were historical fiction, contemporary & futuristic sci-fi elements. I enjoyed the futuristic parts the most highlighting the dangers of damaging our planet & the consequences.

👎🏼: Each story & time period eventually connect as the story progresses, however, this one was LONG!! I’m not sure I was able to get everything out of this book that I was supposed to. It was definitely well-written & eye opening, however, dragged in certain parts for me & couldn’t hold my attention.

Overall, I’m sure many will absolutely love this story but it was honestly too much for me to comprehend fully 😂🤷🏼‍♀️ I’d love to chat with anyone who has read or reads in the future to see what you all thought!

Thanks to @netgalley & @scribnerbooks for the gifted copy. This one is out on 9/28! 💙☁️

Since reading All the Light We Cannot See (2014), Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II novel, I have feared that his next book could never live up to that quality. How wrong I was! Let Doerr sweep you away to Cloud Cuckoo Land as you travel between the 15th-century Ottoman siege of Constantinople, present day Idaho, and the futuristic spacecraft Argos. In each narrative thread, you will encounter memorable characters caught up in dramatic situations, learn their backstories, come to understand their weaknesses and dreams, and slowly watch their lives interconnect like jigsaw puzzle pieces to create a picture of our time and to offer hope for our future.

On Day 307 of Mission Year 65, fourteen-year-old Konstance has been alone in a room for nearly a year with only Sybil, the spaceship’s computer, as companion, and with an inflatable cot, a recycling toilet, sacks of nourish powder used by the 3-D food printer, and a virtual reality headset and Perambulator. With the aid of the latter two, Konstance can access the ship’s library, including the atlas that enables her to experience any place on earth as it was shortly before the Argos mission began. Compelled by memories of her father’s stories, she writes with homemade ink on scraps torn from empty nourish powder sacks.

At 4:30 p.m., February 20, 2020, Zeno, an octogenarian, escorts a small group of fifth graders from school to the Lakeport Public Library in Idaho for a dress rehearsal of the fantasy play they will perform the following night for families and community. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Seymour Stuhlman sits inside a car with his green JanSport backpack crammed with two pressure cookers, in turn filled with nails, ball bearings, and explosives. Wires coming out of the pressure cookers attach to a cell phone taped to each lid. Seymour watches the time, waiting to enter the library shortly before closing to conceal the backpack on a shelf behind the books.

In 15th-century Constantinople, orphan sisters Anna and Maria sleep on a horsehair pallet. They are forced into daily labor embroidering vines, larks, peacocks, and doves on a Bishop's vestments. Many miles away, Omeir, a poor farm boy shunned because of his cleft lip and palate, is torn away from home to handle the pair of oxen commandeered from his grandfather by Ottoman forces traveling toward Constantinople to join the new sultan’s army destined to break through the walls and seize the city. Those inside the wall are in danger of slaughter or enslavement.

Fragments of a tale Antonius Diogenes allegedly wrote to bring “health and light” to a seriously ill niece separate and introduce each time shift. As the shepherd Aethon searches for the illusive, utopian Cloud Cuckoo Land, the shepherd’s story becomes a pervading symbol.

Dedicated to “librarians then, now, and in the years to come,” Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land should appeal to literature lovers everywhere. Readers will find themselves caught up in these disparate lives, separated by time and space, but ultimately united in ways that matter most--by the written word, by their hopes, dreams, strength, determination, bravery, devotion to a cause, and ability to change--by their enduring humanity.

A word of advice: after finishing the Epilogue, reread at least the Prologue. You will be glad you did. The more you reread, the more you will marvel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner/Simon & Schuster for an advance reader copy of Anthony Doerr’s latest masterpiece. I anticipate his next.

Thank you Scribner and NetGalley for the early access!
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Is there anything more powerful than a child in need? In Cloud Cuckoo Land we meet five children in various ages of time and geographic (interstellar) locations and we watch as these children learn about the world.
This is a story of destruction, of nature, of cities and of innocence, but it is equally, if not more so, a story of honoring the past and upholding the stories and the language of our beginnings. Through books, libraries, languages and spoken word the characters face the challenge of learning about our history but then protecting it for the future.
We see each child lose a bit of their innocence, naivety, but we also see them dig in and face these obstacles with a grit that most children don’t posses. It’s their determination which we, the reader, hold onto as their tragedies and triumphs reveal themselves.
Anthony Doerr writes with an elegance that keeps the reader mesmerized and allows for such far-flung times and locations to blend together seamlessly. Five Stars!

I absolutely loved this novel. The way Anthony Doerr weaves together so many story lines over various timeline was beautifully done. I found myself unable to put this book down. I felt so connected to the characters and their stories. My favorite storyline was konstances as I felt like I related to her the most. Zeno is such a beautiful character. I loved Seymours character arc. I had more difficulty relating to Anna and Omeirs stories, but I found their stories moving.

I am one of the few who wasn’t amazed by “All The Light We Cannot See”. For some reason I found the writing too confusing. Or maybe there was too much excess and not a focus on the actual story. The only thing I know is that when I finished it I didn’t understand what the hype was about.

This book is even harder to absorb.

This book reminds me of Cloud Atlas, except that I feel like Cloud Atlas had a point and I’m not sure this one does. In both books there are three stories taking place in three different times: hundreds of years ago, present day, and well into the future.

One of the challenges of Cloud Cuckoo is that it not only jumps eras but it shifts years in each era. So it’s not always easy to understand where you are and why.

There is a lot of history on the characters that Im not sure matters. There is a lot of text from the Cloud Cuckoo book which doesn’t make sense. Of course it all links together in the end, but I didn’t get any reveal about life (or any other reveal) at the end.

The three stories are definitely entertaining. The fact that they intersect is also entertaining. I just don’t think that’s enough for me to consider it a great book.

#netgalley #cloudcuckooland

I was unable to complete this book. Since there is no option for "did not finish," I chose a rating of 1 star. I tried multiple times to get into this very long, very complicated book, but I couldn't stay with it. Thanks to NetGalley and to Scribner for providing an ARC.

I loved Anthony Doerr’s “All the Light We Cannot See” and jumped at the chance to read his new novel, “Cloud Cuckoo Land”. This book is quite different and a challenging read. Three stories from three different time periods are being told with the connection being the characters interest in an ancient Greek myth and their personal struggles and resilience.
The stories take place in Constantinople during the fifteenth century, a small town in Idaho during current times and in the future on a space ship. It takes awhile to get into each story as they alternate throughout the book with no seeming connection except the interest in the Greek myth until the end of the novel. The myth itself is unfolding along with each story line so there is a lot for the reader to keep track of which takes commitment on the part of the reader.
Doerr does a masterful job of tying it all together by the end. I am in awe that anyone could think of these individual stories let alone connect them through the myth and the interconnectedness of the past, present and future. I will be thinking about this book for a while and sorting out the messages within

Always fun to read an epic book, especially when it comes from an author whose past work you have enjoyed! Cloud Cuckoo Land was a great read and one I will recommend to all readers. Set in three distinct time periods CCL follows children, the stories they hear and the hope they have for the future. As with All the Light We Cannot See - their stories are connected along with the story that connects them - Cloud Cuckoo Land.

I couldnt wait to get back to each character, I love how short each chapter was and it kept me turning the page to learn more. Anthony has a way with words and creating compelling characters. Your hearts break for them and you learn to love them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC!

ARC from Netgalley.

Set over three different time periods with five different perspectives, this is ultimately a book about seeing all the horrible shit that happens in the world, but knowing that there's always hope and a joy to living just the way we are. The story is told during 1453 Constantinople, modern day Idaho, and on a spaceship in the not so distant future, with each chapter weaving together the different stories and perspectives of each character.

The story that each of the characters had change there life in one way or another is Cloud Cuckoo Land by Antonius Diogenes. Though each character seems separate in their stories and journeys, Cloud Cuckoo Land stands the test of time and ultimately weaves them each together.

There were so many times this book made my heart ache. It was well written and a great concept for a novel. Part science fiction, part historical fiction, part contemporary, part fantasy, this book brought together so many genres and themes that I love.

I couldn't wait to read Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, since I loved All the Light We Cannot See. The plot summary sounded a little strange, but previous reviewers encouraged me to take the plunge into this 640 page novel, and I was not disappointed!

This is definitely a cross-genre book, mixing historical fiction with a bit of science fiction and fantasy. This plot is imaginative, inventive and extremely clever. I don't know how Mr. Doerr created this complex tale and somehow weaved together timelines from 1400's Constantinople, 2020 Idaho and "Mission Year 65" on a spaceship.

I will agree that the three timelines and five main characters plus the "original" Greek tale are a lot to keep track of, especially considering that each timeline jumped around a bit in time, too. While I understand how that may overwhelm some readers, I found that sticking with it was well worth my time. I appreciated the short chapters, which kept the story moving at a brisk pace, but I understand how some readers could find that jarring.

I was intrigued by all of the characters and time periods, but I was most eager to continue with Seymour and Zeno's situation at the public library. Konstance's plight aboard the spaceship was fascinating, but Anna and Omeir's time plodded along a little more slowly. The way these seemingly disparate stories converge is nothing less than brilliant.

As a librarian and avid reader, I loved the themes: redemptive power of stories, storytelling to carry on a legacy, the healing power of relationships, moving forward even when life feels unbearable, and so many more!

I will recommend this to readers who appreciate rich stories with literary themes. I suspect Mr. Doerr may win awards for this one; it is the most unique book I have read so far this year.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

In a departure from the beloved historical fiction narrative in his Pulitzer Prize winning All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr returns with another triumph. In a novel that seems David Mitchell-esque in its scope, Doerr introduces us to a handful of teenage characters who, separated by time, distance and circumstances, are connected by an ancient Greek myth, Cloud Cuckoo Land. Doerr introduces us to Anna, an orphan who is indentured to a great embroidery house in 15th century Constantinople, where her desire to read leads her to an elderly scholar. Outside of the gates of Constantinople is Omeir, a physically disabled boy whose deformity has caused his family to be ostracized from their village, but who is conscripted along with his beloved oxen by the Sultan who plans to lay siege to Constantinople. Doerr then takes the reader to present day Lakeport, Idaho where Seymour, an ecoterrorist, misguidedly creates havoc in the local library where children under the guidance of the octogenarian Zeno, a former G.I. and a translator of Cloud Cuckoo Land, are rehearsing a play based on the Greek myth. On an interstellar spaceship that is whisking 86 people away from an Earth that few of the passengers can remember, Konstance is sequestered in a sealed room with Sybil, a light spectral robot where Konstance, too, encounters Cloud Cuckoo Land. Although it seems like these disparate characters could never cohere, Doerr masterfully connects them in a moving tale of hope and humanity.