Once again Anthony Doerr has done it. When I read his book All the Light We Cannot See it was hands down my favorite book ever. I did not think there would be a book that would displace it as my favorite and then Cloud Cuckoo Land was published. I took my time reading this book and savored it. It was not only well written but also thought provoking. The environmental issues presented in this book will stay on my mind for a long time to come.

Absolutely adored this book. It's a love letters to the curious, to librarians, to book lovers. A true pleasure to read.

Anthony Doerr’s 640 page masterpiece, Cloud Cuckoo Land, comes seven years after his novel, All the Light We Cannot See, and it was worth the wait.
Three different story lines spanning three different centuries take place in three different locations. This is not the book for you if you like to read books in linear fashion. Cloud Cuckoo Land at times feels like three different stories that have no connection, especially as one story takes place in Constantinople, 1453, one in Idaho, 2020, and one on an interstellar ship sometime in the Future.
What could 5 characters from 3 different centuries have in common?
Doerr’s book dedication is the clue to these three stories purpose. It reads, “For the librarians, then, now, and in the years to come.”
Doerr’s three stories do share one thing. It is Cloud Cuckoo Land, an ancient story written by Antonio’s Diogenes around the first century. It is the telling of Aethon, a shepherds quest of seeking a magical place in the sky.
Each story and the characters within know Aethon’s tale. That story impacts the life of each of the characters lives in a profound way.
Cloud Cuckoo Land is an example of what I think anyone who loves reading wants, a great story. One that allows you to lose all sense of reality because you are now immersed in the story.
Congratulations to Doerr’s for writing a novel of epic proportions. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another seven years for his next book.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley AllTheLightWeCannotSee

I will think of this as Exhibit A (although it is hardly the first) book with literary pretentions that I simply could not follow as an audio book. It probably says more about me than the book, but the format did not seem conducive to the audio format. There were two readers, but I couldn’t figure out why. I know there was something about translation, libraries and books, but I really couldn’t tell you what the book was about after just finishing it.

I had such a hard time getting into this book. While I found it to be very well written I just had a hard time following it and staying focused. I absolutely think this is a case of it just not being for me and has nothing to do with the author's talent.

I'm exhausted and not sure what I just read. Cloud Cuckoo Land is over 600 pages long. It contains 5 weakly connected points of view. There are 6 storylines that change too frequently and multiple timelines. It only received two stars instead of one because I thought the writing was beautiful at times. The descriptive prose was lovely but it was excessive. I see that many, many people greatly enjoyed this book but it was definitely not my cup of tea.

I need to pause and take a breath. This book was absolutely amazing, beautiful, and heart breaking all at once. Anthony Doerr did it again, first with All of the Light We Cannot See, and now with Cloud Cuckoo Land. I adore multiple POVs so this just made it even better for me, even though at times it was wordy. Overall, an absolutely astonishing read and I recommend it to everyone.

It took me over 100 pages to get into this book. That whole time I was confused and wondering how this was written by the same author who wrote my beloved All the Light We Cannot See. But once I settled in, understood the plot device and timelines, and realized it was going to be a totally different book, I came to love this story.

It is confusing at times. Looking back on it, I’m still not entirely sure what I read or how to describe it to anyone. I don’t know what lessons I learned from this book. But it is beautifully written, magical, and a treat to spend time with the characters the author has woven for his readers.

I can’t wait to see what Doerr comes up with next.

An ambitious, moving, bloated novel. I enjoyed some aspects of this and greatly struggled with others. I think I may enjoy this more on a reread, but I must say I am a bit let down.

Did not finish. Just could not get into this one. The plot seemed interesting, but I kept putting this down to read different books instead. Hope other readers enjoy it!

Giving three stars to be fair to the author in the event that it simply wasn’t written for me :)

I had trouble getting into this book as I found it confusing and was disappointed based on the author's previous titles. But many other readers have liked it, so it may just not be something for me.

Do you like dual timelines in a novel? What about three or more timelines?

Cloud Cuckoo Land has three distinct timelines, but there are other timelines throughout. The novel starts in 2020 with a young man getting a bomb ready to go off at a library where young children are putting on a play, Cloud Cuckoo Land. The novel flashes back in time for a couple of key players in this timeline to build up why these characters are here and give background to the choices they will make. This includes Seymour, a young misunderstood boy who grows into a young man that is recruited by eco-terrorists, and Zeno, an old Korean War veteran who is working on the translation of Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Another timeline is in Constantinople in 1453. Anna is an orphan and seamstress who is trying to help out her sister, Maria. She takes manuscripts from an old crumbling abbey and sells them to make money. This is how the manuscript of Cloud Cuckoo Land is rescued. Omeir is a young peasant boy born with a cleft palate. He is recruited by the sultan to drive his team of oxen to help overtake Constantinople. There his and Anna’s story will collide.

In the future Konstance is on an intergenerational spaceship traveling toward a new home. She is intrigued by everything and wants to learn as much as she can.

There was a lot going on in this novel. It was the July pick for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library. It gave us a lot to discuss. I felt like when I would start to get into a story line, I would be disappointed to move to another point of view. I learned that one of my book club members would stay with that viewpoint and read through the novel which I thought was an interesting way to do it.

I thought the book was very interesting, beautifully written, and a unique storyline. I felt vested in the characters that thought that the ending was masterfully pulled together. It was a good book.
I started to read this book on audiobook, but I found that it worked better for me to read it on my Kindle to keep track of all of the different storylines. Another book club member listened and read the novel. The narrators in the audiobook were excellent.

Book Source: Thank-you to Simon Schuster Audiobooks and Netgalley.

I enjoyed this read. I feel like it definitely could have been shorter but overall I enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend it.

This is an epic story set in three different timelines, the 1400's, present day, and sometime in the future, which is set in a spaceship. Each timeline focused on books and how important they are, have always been, and will be in the future. I really enjoyed this set of stories and how they all weave together. It is long, but it is worth the read if you are a book lover,

I was given an e-copy of this book by NetGalley and the publisher and all opinions are my own.

This just wasn't my cup of tea.

I think the multiple timelines that spread across centuries really threw me off.

This took me a long time to get through. I love the characters—all are well-drawn and sympathetic—even the villain redeems himself. I’m sure there are lots of connections between the fable and the plot, but I guess they were too subtle for me. I like that he provides closure, but I’m not a fan of time-travel.

A multi-POV saga spanning different time periods to tell the story of how Cloud Cuckoo Land has impacted others across time.

Doerr does it again. This book is thick, but the reader is quickly immersed in each of the worlds that are so carefully and beautifully crafted. I had some difficulty jumping back into the different stories - especially with the longer chapters, I think this book would lend itself extremely well to a paper book for my reading style (post its so I can go back and forth to important sections).

Overall, this was a sublime book that I will certainly be recommending to friends and family.

As soon as I saw Anthony Doerr was writing a new book, I knew I HAD to have it. "Cloud Cuckoo Land" broke away from everything I expected. The entire time I read it, I was a cloud of sadness and hopefulness and depression and thrill. With such an unusual book, it's hard to describe it in terms of other things I've read, but to me it gave off distinctive "The Giver" feels - memories, flashbacks, that unusual taste of "what if." Definitely left me wanting more.

This book is a book lovers dream come true! I absolutely loved it! It was such a descriptive and captivating read. Highly recommend! 5 stars!!

3.5*
Doerr is a gifted writer but here he is almost too ambitious in his attempt to impress. The novel starts off in a confusing manner but does get much easier to follow. There are multiple timelines centering on an ancient classic text Cloud Cuckoo Land written by Diogenes. This mythic tale tells of a shepherd who wishes for his life to change resulting in him turning into a bird and a donkey.

In 1453 we find young Anna who lives in the walled city of Constantinople. She lives under the care of nuns who are very strict. Anna wants to learn how to read and convinces a scribe to teach her. As she searches the rubble, she unearths Diogenes’ text. The city is under siege and among those assailing the city is Omeir, a young boy with a disfiguring cleft lip. He is a kindly soul who has been persecuted for his appearance and forced to join the advancing army because his strong oxen are needed.

The Idaho story is set in 2020 and centers around Seymour, a young man who has become ensnared by a violent environmental group who urge him to make a statement that will get a lot of attention. He’s been raised by his single mother who barely makes ends meet. It’s clear that he has some kind of condition like autism or Asberger’s. Easily swayed, he ends up making poor choices and finds himself in trouble while a group of children are rehearsing a play of Cloud Cuckoo Land in a room above him. Zeno is also part of this timeline but he is old now and has learned a lot since his 1940’s internment in a Korean POW camp. He has translated parts of Diogenes’ book from Greek to English and is the author of the play the children are rehearsing, just as Seymour is creating chaos in the library below.

The third setting is in the future where a young girl is on a spaceship that has left a dying planet. She is with her parents but later finds they may not be able to protect her from growing threats on the ship. In the library she comes across Diogenes’ shapeshifting story. She becomes increasingly isolated and questions the artificial intelligence that controls the ship and everything she does.

So many of the characters have flaws yet they are sympathetic and unique. Each has a connection to a library, a place of learning and literature. All of them find Diogenes’ classic manuscript of longing for paradise. The plot centers around a philosophical desire to be better, make things better or find a better world, just as in the mythic tale. It reminds us of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz as she seeks a safer place for her and Toto.

There is a lot to like about the underlying theme, but the elements are woven together in a somewhat confusing manner. It is worth the read, despite the beginning and the complex connections. Clearly, Doerr is a skilled author who takes his craft seriously and brings his readers on a mythic journey, just like the original classic Greek Argonauts.