Cloud Cuckoo Land

Doerr’s ability to bring disparate strains of complex stories together is even more successful here than in his last book.Beautifully written

my daughter loved the book

What it must have taken to write a book with this many layers is astonishing. Absolutely amazing writer. It was like he was challenging himself to do the impossible. But IMO it wasn’t a very good book. The story was way too long. Very disjointed. Almost everything about the book was depressing. I didn’t care anything about any of the characters. I felt more for the owl and the oxen than I did for any of the storylines. The most interesting thing about the book was the story of the man turned donkey etc . I found that’s an actual book called the Golden Ass which I look forward to reading. After The Light You Cannot See this was very disappointing.

Doerr weaves his golden threads through time and space and lives. He tells a tale about the magic of tales passed to us through the ages.

Serious themes? Imperfect people, learning to deal with yearning for a perfect life, the magic of a very old manuscript. Metaphor? Manuscript with missing passages and sections maybe out of order. Young people finish the nutty tale on a more optimistic note. Different time periods skillfully gradually tied together.

This was so different than what I usually read and so... great!This is a story about a book and its time travel from Greece to Constantinopole to the US to a generation ship in space.But it is mostly a story about the people whose lives were influenced by the book: a Greek embroideress, an Ottoman castaway, an American soldier in the Korea war, an autistic American boy, and a girl stranded in space.The unwinding of the thread that connects them is just beautifully done

It is a difficult task for an author to weave separate and distinct timelines together across time & space, creating both a saga and separate, complete stories that are compelling. Anthony Doerr has done this in Cloud Cuckoo Land,creating a tapestry of lives and patterns that intersect from the ancient world to the mid - 21st century.From ancient Greece to medieval Constantinople & Bulgaria, to a future not yet realized, each scenario acts as a complete story that nests one within the other, connected themselves by an ancient story; a story that heals, protects & offers hope to those that hear it.The amount of research that Doerr must have done to create these wildly different and disparate worlds is frankly amazing. As a retired English teacher, I am not easily impressed by novelists who seem to be writing a rough draft of a screenplay. However, this book was an old-fashioned, time-stopping, curl-up-for-hours engagement with humanity past, present & future. Each timeline creates major and minor characters that you identify with, appreciate, root for ,and sorrow with. The way Doerr weaves a story of an ancient, foolish man- knowing we are all ancient & foolish- throughout centuries of war, plague, happiness, love & sorrow in a quest to find the meaning of life was truly amazing .I'd compare this book with Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible, or David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. If I were still teaching AP Literature, I would make this book required reading. I read a lot of books, and this one is good enough to make me wrote a review.

This is a long book, but reads very quickly because each section is. no more than 20 minutes. It follows four characters who live in different points of history. They are connected by a very old Greek book that when translated is called Cloud Cuckoo Land. It is very interesting and I read it in four days. I can see why it won the Pulitzer Prize.

Having read "All the Light We Cannot See" by this author, I asked for this book as a Christmas gift 17 months ago. I finally got around to actually reading it.It's amazing. A sweeping epic crossing many cultures and a vast span of time.After reading the first few chapters, I wondered how Doerr would manage to tie together the seemingly disparate stories he was weaving. I was beyond pleased with the outcome.Highly recommend! Wonderfully brilliant story telling.

This is the intertwined stories of five people who are far apart in age, distance, circumstances & time - but who are connected. It was recommended to me but I was reluctant to read it because of the sort of science fiction thread of the character Konstance. (I'm no longer a big sci-fi fan.) I let it stay in my TBR pile for a long while. Oh, be still my heart - this is one of the best books I've gotten lost in in many years! I can only say if you love books, if you love stories with heart & meaning & depth, if you enjoy living alongside beautiful, interesting & understandable characters, being amazed, joyous, terrified & fearful, then this is a book for you. Just give it a few pages - it's beyond wonderful. Enjoy..

“Sometimes the things we think are lost are only hidden, waiting to be rediscovered.”This was my first read by this author and have heard so many good things about All the Light We Cannot See, so I was eager to try Cloud Cuckoo Land.There is no real antagonist within the confines of the revolving storylines, but rather the various challenges and circumstances that come in the way. Being that this novel is so spread out in terms of time, place, and historical context, this means that read must continually shift their focus. I didn’t see a problem with that at all, and felt invested in what was taking place.Cloud Cuckoo Land is definitely ambitious. Juggling five main characters’ perspectives and periods and trying to make it work into a cohesive work must have been a challenge. We have Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance and their distinct time periods and settings. Each of these stories will eventually form a bigger picture that will come into focus.While it can be a tad jarring at first for the reader to get oriented and used to this format, this very intentional tactic eventually works, especially as the stories blend together regarding themes and common elements in the second half. Handling so many points of view is no easy task, and I think the author handles this rather capably.For the most part, I felt invested in all storylines most of the time (with the exception of the Seymour one, but that one, too eventually came around), but I was mostly intrigued with Anna and Omeir’s two storylines that eventually converged.Probably the most enjoyable distinction of the novel is how the tradition of oral storytelling is revered and explored throughout through various means and views. The author includes a note after the novel where he reveals how Cloud Cuckoo Land is a “paean to books” and how it is “built on the foundation of many other books.” This inspiration rings forth through the characters and their struggles and fates.The “book within a book” or “story within a story” concept is also interesting, and seemingly helps to form a link between the various characters.There is an undeniable and certain magic that this book has, a vibe that made me want to come back and read each night. I wanted to know what moments would unfold for the various characters and how they would manage any griefs or struggles that came their way. Even though there were so many perspectives, it still felt like a novel I could pick up the next day where I left off at and once again become fully immersed in.Overall, this is a very thoughtful, philosophical, and reflective journey. I’m eager to pick up another title from this author in the future.

At first, I just scratched my head. What is going on? Too many bits and pieces. Then I re-read he back of the book to get clued in. Okay... have patience. I'm glad I kept going because I ended up loving the book.Not five stars because the Konstance 'ending' felt almost like a slight. What? All of a sudden, no more world building? Maybe this author isn't a sci fi author, but he owed us a better ending for her strange new world.Just two more pages and that would have been covered nicely.I loved Zeno's story. I loved the story all these stories centered around. He had me at the donkey. I love the respect for books, the warning about our precious and fragile environment being abused, the way I could read a little chapter, soak it in, put down the book, come back in a bit and find myself in another world - the popping around in little universes - the stories of other people's lives - so deep, complicated, and gorgeous.A far star book with a four-star ending for Konstance. A great book club selection.

A flawed, but humane and poignant story that held my attention and touched my heart. I was a bit bothered by the isolation and loneliness of the five main narrators, none of whom interacted much with anyone else for most of the book. Although shadowy figures surrounded the five, each seemed encapsulated and absorbed in their own world–and this made the telling a little bleak. For me, characters need to relate to other people--that’s what enlivens a story–and there was very little of that here.The lead up to the battle of Constantinople was exhaustively and exquisitely described, and I marveled at the quality of the writing and the depth of the research Mr. Doerr must have done. However, this section went on way too long–and the battle itself was hardly mentioned. Not a good idea to have a powerful and dramatic build up and then practically no resolution.Konstance’s story ended on a confusing and ambiguous note that raised more questions than it answered.But Mr. Doerr writes so tenderly and sympathetically of his characters that this reader (at least) couldn’t help but love them all. That includes Moonlight and Tree.Four and a half stars.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is an Ancient Greek tale of a man not satisfied with his current existence, so he spends his life trying to find a legendary city in the sky where no one ever suffers or wants for anything. It’s a silly story full of profound lessons and comedic relief - one that both inspires and gives refuge to the lost and the weary.Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel follows Cloud Cuckoo Land the Ancient Greek book for over 700 years. It’s nearly lost over and over again to war, to the elements, to egregious acts of man, and to the passage of time. It survives against all odds - and it shapes and connects the lives of 5 main characters: Anna, Omeir, Zeno, Seymour, and Konstance.Despite living in different centuries, the characters all have two things in common:1. They are each born a little different and because of this they struggle to adapt to the world around them.2. Every one of their lives is deeply and irrevocably changed by Cloud Cuckoo Land.——Anna/Omeir - Set in the 15th century at opposing sides of a great war, the Anna and Omeir chapters serve as something of an origin (or, rather, discovery) story for Cloud Cuckoo Land. Full of personal tragedies, adventure, bravery, and hope, Anna’s life story in particular is a profound example of how a book can become a source of strength during times of hopelessness. Without her tenacity, Omeir’s faithfulness, and the early examples of libraries touched upon in these chapters, Cloud Cuckoo Land would never have made it out of the 15th century.Zeno/Seymour - Zeno and Seymour are born generations apart. While the circumstances of their lives are very different, both are at odds with the world around them. Often navigating life restless and alone, it takes them years to stop running and finally find peace and purpose. Their paths cross dangerously at a library in the 21st century, and the events of that day will forever change the lives of everyone involved - as well as the trajectory of the book Cloud Cuckoo Land.Konstance - In the 22nd century, humans have destroyed the planet and are trying to start over on a new Earth called Beta Oph2. Konstance and her parents are a part of this mission. Guided by an AI named Sybil, they spend most of their days inside of the library on their ship called The Argos, researching and preparing for humanity to live in the new world. The fate of Cloud Cuckoo Land once again lies in the hands of a young girl who in turn comes to rely on the ancient story as a sort of lighthouse beaconing her home.And then, of course, there is Cloud Cuckoo Land itself. Doerr doesn’t just write about the ancient tale - he writes the entire book into this novel. By the time readers are finished, they will have essentially read four books in one: Anna/Omeir, Zeno/Seymour, Konstance, and Cloud Cuckoo Land. Chapter by chapter, Doerr alternates timelines and points of view. Piece by piece, the individual stories puzzle together over time just as they did in All the Light We Cannot See. While not quite as lyrical as All the Light, Doerr’s imagery and prose are still captivating.There are many lessons to be found within this book, but above all, Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel is an incredible, slow-burning love story. It’s a story about the love of reading, and the deep appreciation for those who make it possible. It is a lot and it won’t be for everyone. It didn’t click for me until I was about 20% of the way through. But if reading has changed you, or even saved you, then you might find your love story reflected in this too.

“Cloud Cuckoo Land” covers a lot of ground from the past, present, and future. It has so much ambition that you almost feel it is unfair to criticize it. However, you feel more competent when it all comes together because you “get it.” I think I got it. But, if you are the reader who begs for a structured plot and a definitive, happy ending, you may want to look elsewhere for your next novel.Author Anthony Doerr wrote one of the most polarizing novels, “All The Light We Cannot See,” eight years ago, and those who wanted a clear ending and well-defined plot hated it. If you value imagery as much as the plot, “Cloud Cuckoo Land” might be for you. I enjoyed the ride. If you had told me five years ago that I would want a book whose story was its biggest weakness, I would have said to go back to reading Nancy Drew.Usually, a novel with different timelines enthralls you or bores you. Here, the one in the future has a ton of relevance for today, while the present-day tale will keep you on the edge of your seat. Unfortunately, the part set in the 1400s takes a little too long to get going. The message is strong, and it all comes together nicely, but it could have happened more quickly.Your opinion of your IQ will differ considerably from page 300 to page 500 once you figure out how all the threads tie together. I could see many of my friends jumping ship before things made sense. But, for me, it was like a breath of fresh air upon discovering the significance of the “source material” and recognizing how multiple people interpreted it differently and perverted its message.I recommend this highly to my deep-thinking, patient friends. I would understand if you lost momentum during the long periods of development as author Anthony Doerr tries to make his point. He states that this is a book about books and the power of timeless literature passed down through many generations. His previous work, “All the Light We Cannot See,” polarized readers, and I expect something similar here. Read it if you want to think and immerse yourself.

This book is so rich and generous, I don't know where to start. I bought it because of the glowing reviews, not knowing that it weaves together several stories ranging from an ancient Greek text (which, in a way, is the heart of all of this and a literary conceit), an emotionally disturbed contemporary teen/environmental terrorist, a woodcutter in 15th century Turkey, a struggling orphan girl of the same century in Istanbul, a gay veteran of the Korean war, and a 14-year-old girl on a futurist escape-from-Earth mission. Had I know all of the multi-character, multi-time period approach, I probably would NOT have bought this book. My ignorance turned to bliss once I just let go of my reluctance to jump from story to story because it did not take long to see what connected these individuals. Plus, Doerr is such a great story teller, even when you don't know how all of this is going to fit together you are entranced by his fully developed depiction of each character and his or her time.I don't like reviews with spoilers so I don't write them. What I will say is that this book is a poetic tribute to the power of words and stories. They entrance us. Heal us. Empower us see the world through different eyes. Doerr does all of this with brilliant, but never self-conscious writing...you know the type that stops you with a brilliant metaphor and then you have totally lost track of what the story is about. All of his characters lose loved ones (including treasured animals), overcome terrible obstacles and in some way find a path to redemption. Their experiences amplify the Greek poetry fragment that is at the heart of the story.While literature itself is the biggest theme of the book, there is a strong thread relating to the way humankind abuses the natural world. In a very small way, it reminded me of The Overstory, a book I pretty much disliked because of its strident approach. Doerr's approach is gentler, kinder and, I believe, will wake more to the dangers facing our environment than a thousand Overstories. This, in a way, proves his point, as his work is fiction, and The Overstory, although fiction, hammers you with science. Someone once said that nonfiction gives you facts and fiction gives you truth.Cloud Cuckoo Land feels like truth the way Hamlet's soliloquy that begins "what a piece of work is man" feels like truth. Our species offers a strange dichotomy. Individuals wage war for ego, riches and power, callously obliterating all in their path -- humans, animals, trees and crops. This has happened since the beginning of time. Yet other individuals throughout history display mercy and kindness and offer acts of self-sacrifice that leave us astonished. There is all of this and more in this astonishing novel.

Five characters living in three different centuries and four different places are all saved by a story. A story that allows them to “slip the trap” of their fear or misery. Anthony Doerr tells their stories in ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land,’ a book that he calls a “paean to books.”The ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ in the novel is a 1st century tale written by Diogenes that tells the story of Aethon, a foolish shepherd who leaves home in search of Cloud Cuckoo Land, a fictional place where there is no pain and turtles walk around carrying honeycakes on their backs. On his journey he is turned into a donkey, a fish, and a crow.Although there is no actual ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land,’ there was a 1st century writer named Antonius Diogenes. Moreover, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of works that we know of but have been lost, some of them comedies about men being transformed into donkeys. Doerr uses this imagined tale to tie his characters together, even though they are separated by geography and time.Konstance, 14 years old, lives aboard The Argos, a spacecraft launched 65 years earlier headed to a distant planet that is to be man's new home. Zeno is 80 years old and leading a group of fifth-graders in a production of ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ at the public library. Seymour is a young man who is intent on placing a bomb in that library. Anna is a young girl that works in an embroidery shop with her sister in 15th century Constantinople. Omeir is a Bulgarian boy who is drafted by Sultan's army in their attack on Constantinople.Each character is abandoned or outcast and each is saved by a story. Konstance is the last human left alive aboard the Argos. Zeno is a gay man in rural Idaho in the mid-20th century; Seymour is autistic; Anna is an orphan; Omeir is born with a cleft lip.Anna discovers a codex of ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ in an abandoned priory. She and Omeir escape Constantinople as it falls to the Ottomans. They view the book as a talisman that gives them luck in their escape and even heals one of their sons when he has a fever.Zeno has spent years teaching himself ancient Greek and translating ancient works when a lost story, ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ is discovered in the Vatican library. Zeno finds joy in the ancient tales and is elated by the discovery. Seymour, regretful of his crimes, assembles Zeno’s work on Aethon’s tale into a book, ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land.’ In doing so, he finds some redemption.Konstance, alone on the Argos, recalls the stories of the foolish shepherd that her father told her and searches the ship’s library for the stories. In doing so, she discovers a secret that leads to her escape.What links all these characters is a story. A story that was once lost and has been found. A story that saves each of their lives. A story that allows them to “slip the trap” of their heartbreak or existential misery. A story that allows them to live inside of it for a few precious moments and be content, entertained, and remember the loved ones they have lost.The alternating chronologies and main characters make this book compelling. And although it’s over 600 pages, you will find yourself finishing it in just a few days. The characters are endearing, especially Zeno and Anna.Anna, who is so young and so fierce, who trades stolen wine for reading lessons, is willing to brave any challenge to keep herself and her sister alive. Zeno, the sweet orphaned boy who is both foreign and a “sissy,” volunteers for the army to honor his father, who died in WWII, returns from a POW camp to dutifully cares for his dying guardian, a selfish woman who offers him only shelter, never love.Even six weeks after finishing the novel, I find myself still thinking about these characters and their moving stories.This love-letter to stories and books is beautiful and enthralling, a masterpiece, and has been predicted to be in the running for next year's Pulitzer. If you love books, you will love this book.

Anthony Doerr is one of America’s most beloved writers. I liked his story collections, The Shell Collector and Memory Wall, and I loved his memoir Four Seasons in Rome. Similarly, as did countless other admirers, I also loved his epic novel All the Light We Cannot See. In contrast to my praise of Doerr’s aforementioned work, I came away less enthusiastic about his first novel About Grace, and likewise I did not find his highly anticipated novel Cloud Cuckoo Land to be anything special.It disappoints me to admit that Cloud Cuckoo Land is an ambitious slog. Its superb premise electrified my interest and indicated the novel needed its epic sweep of over 600 pages to capture what Doerr sought to explore: three stories that overlap and connect across several centuries, a story each for addressing the past, present, and future. I found compelling the story about Anna and Omeir from the 15th Century, and I also found interesting the contemporary story from Boise, Idaho about Zeno and Seymour. However, the futuristic story about Konstance on a spaceship traveling to another planet was groundless, tedious, and borderline incomprehensible.The other aspect that made Cloud Cuckoo Land too convoluted to be memorable is the way Doerr kept splicing the stories into such little chunks only to prolong the drama, which was very predictable and anticlimactic. What’s most disappointing is that the story of Anna and Omeir was beautiful and could have produced its own novel. Similarly, the story of Zeno and Seymour could have also made a strong novel. However, combining them and dividing them into pieces and backstories over such long stretches of the characters’ lives made their vitality negligible and underdeveloped regarding certain aspects of the main characters’ lives. I would rather Doerr have given us two entirely focused novels: one about Anna and Omeir and one about Zeno and Seymour, while he decided to disregard Konstance’s story.Nonetheless, Doerr’s writing is splendid and observant with gorgeous details and images throughout the novel, especially his recreation of Constantinople and the story of Anna and Omeir. The problem is that the beauty did not do enough to hold together the convoluted pieces of three narratives scattered so far apart that the end result was a long book with a lot of fine prose delivering a novel that not did leave an indelible mark. Cloud Cuckoo Land grinds to a halt due to its overly ambitious attempts of wanting to do too much, which only made the strength of its parts weaker in the end. Doerr is an imaginative writer with great skill and daring. I commend his efforts, but I felt exhausted and disinterested with trying to reflect about what was ultimately a convoluted novel.

From the Pulitzer Prize Winning Author of “All the Light We Cannot See”, Anthony Doerr has just released his new novel titled “Cloud Cuckoo Land”! With extraordinary writing skills, this author to me, is a master story teller. His ability to transport readers into breathtaking worlds is surely a cut above the rest, and certainly makes him worthy of being an esteemed member of the Pulitzer family in the category of fiction. Is it similar to” All the Light We Cannot See”? No, not at all. In fact the author jumps off the diving board into a whole new realm and does it quite brilliantly.To say that I have never read such a creative and clever story such as “Cloud Cuckoo Land” is simply the truth. This is a story about a story told in 4 stories. Yes, that is what I just said.Fact: In ancient Greece, there was an author named Antonius Diogenes who wrote a fantastical fairytale-like story called “The Wonders of Thule”. Today only fragments of 12 pages remain. With snippets of Homer’s Odyssey, The Golden Ass of Lucius Apuleius, and what I think reminded me of the journey that Pinocchio took, the tale is of a poor shepherd boy who embarks on a wondrous pilgrimage wishing all along that he could be transformed into a bird.Within four different narratives of people in three different times and places, Anthony Doerr deftly interlaces the wise old Greek fable into each of their lives in the most creative and unique ways possible.Current times. Inside a small town library in Idaho an elderly Greek man named Zeno Ninis is directing a group of children who are acting out a play of "The Wonders of Thule", when a young and troubled young man named Seymour enters the building planning to set off a bomb.Constantinople 14th century. The lives of a young girl named Anna and a young boy named Omeir collide in desperate times with their individual stories of tragedy and survival. Omeir was born with a cleft lip leaving him ugly enough for his parents to sell him and his two pet oxen to a Sultan on crusade planning to attack the city of Constantinople. Anna and her sister are orphans raised by a wealthy Greek man who employs them as master embroiderers. When her sister falls ill, she learns of a young man who scrounges for anything worth selling in order to eat. When Anna becomes his assistant in theft she finds a valuable codex copy of "The Wonders of Thule".Far in the Future. On a spaceship named the Argos, teenager Konstance lives with many families who are traveling to a distant planet after Earth has been devastated from fatal environmental disasters. When Konstance was a child her father read a bedtime story to her. It was called "The Wonders of Thule". When a deadly virus mysteriously leaves her the sole survivor onboard the Argos, magical advanced technology helps Konstance uncover many secrets of the real truth behind the Argos’ mission.Anthony Doerr weaves a glorious carpet of connecting threads that lie within each of the character’s stories individually and as a whole so well, that by the time you come to the end you will be in awe of his ability to narrate such an incredible tale. I can only hope he will win another Pulitzer prize for this beautiful novel that seriously knocked my socks off. This book will make you appreciate the talent this author renders up to his readers.I usually give a star rating to my reviews, but honestly there are no high enough stars for books like this. Buy it, read it, be inspired! Feel the magic and the wonder of books! Thank you Anthony Doerr!