Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel

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.

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.

Starting a new book, to me, always feels like a bit of a gamble. Will this be worth many hours of my time? Especially if it's a slow-starter. More and more it seems slow-starter books are no longer published these days, given people have so many distractions competing for attention. It doesn't help that this book has at least five different storylines and timelines and is told, much of the time, out of chronological order. Normally, I dislike this kind of "gimmick" or possible-flight-of-fancy by an author. Often multiple stories are frustrating to read because you get to the end of one chapter and just when things are getting good, you are whisked away to a totally different story that may or may not be related....but.... but, but... when done right, a slow-builder that promises much can sometime deliver most. Multiple stories, when told right, can deliver multiple times the load. Cloud Cuckoo Land is ABSOLUTELY a quality read that doesn't fail to deliver and the mythical tale of Aethon's adventures tie it all together beautifully, even as it seems possibly "annoyingly quirky" to begin with.There aren't too many "all in one" works of fiction these days, with a start, a middle and and end. It used be that fiction had this to aim for at least, but nowadays never-ending book-series seem the order of the day. To my mind, the best fiction is a story that builds to a knockout ending that leaves you dazed (and likely confused) by the end. This IS such a tale.I still don't know if it all makes sense (well, I kind of know it doesn't / also of course it does) - but it doesn't matter. I still haven't thought enough about it to figure out if there are some inconsistencies or a coincidence-too-far in places. Part of me is looking forward to thinking on it for a long time to come and part of me doesn't want to over-analyse it. There's a lot to digest here, but sometimes, like a good cake, it's best to gorge and enjoy rather than spend time dissecting the ingredients, trying to find an element that could be eliminated. The little tangy taste you get from an isolated under-ripe raspberry can be just what's needed to raise the flavour of a slightly-too-musky dark chocolate. And maybe you don't like cream, but when it has just the right consistency, with just the right flavours flowing through, the whole is many times more than the sum of its parts.That's not to put-down the individual parts of this book. Each, in turn is magnificently told and a lovely read. But, stitched together with "Diogenes's" thread, the whole is multiple times more special.Thank you for restoring my faith in modern fiction.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is immensely readable, and we as readers are dropped into many worlds; Constantinople in the 15th century, a Spaceship travelling in interstellar space, Lakeport, Oregon in 2020. The various stories are achieved with such precise narrative skill, humour and humanity. I wake early to read more, so much do I want to solve this Rubik Cube puzzle of a novel. One of the most extraordinary and compelling reads I have come across. Buy it. If you like History, Sci-Fi and mysteries, then this is the book for you.

This huge novel is thought-provoking, funny, moving, entertaining and involving from the very start. Doerr drops us right into different places and times with no preamble, bringing his settings and characters instantly to life, with none of that stilted language or dutiful exposition that spoils so many historical works. The time-spanning intellectual mystery recalls David Mitchell perhaps, but this is so much more humane and resonant. I loved it.

I bought this on the basis that previous work by this author has been spell-binding especially "All The Light We Cannot See"; whether it meets that dizzy height is a matter of opinion, in mine, it is equal (but different).The interweaving of non-linear timelines is now a bit of a standard in novels and can become wooden and forced, and so it seemed with this, at first. But as the novel progresses each timeline reveals its point and connection with the others. Like "All The Light..." it is deeply metaphorical and covers so much material about what it is to be human and our place in the world and in particular the role of storytelling. It is a book about many things but most of all it is a book about story telling. Looking back at it from the end and thinking through how the story got to the conclusion it seems unbelievable it would be possible to tell so much story in a single volume - surely so much richness would need a trilogy at least? This is masterful storytelling.Other reviewers comment that the storyline set in the future is weak science fiction; I think misses the point. I don't think that timeline was meant to be 'science fiction' as such, it was mostly part of the bigger story and for me absolutely essential, to say why would be a plot spoiler suffice to say if you are drawn to this book becuase of the potential science fiction go elsewhere but if you are drawn to rich stories which transcend genre this is as good as it gets. All round top marks.

I really struggled with this book. ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ is probably one of the best books I have ever read and so I was very excited to read ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’, maybe that was my mistake?I found it confusing from the start and couldn’t find the thread of all the different times and places until about a third of the way through the book. And then I thought it was a fairly tenuous thread at that.It did get more connected as the book progressed but I still felt some of the stories were unnecessary and very drawn out. I plodded on because I have loved Anthony Doerr’s books and thought I was probably just missing ‘something’ but after finishing the book I just feel flat and disappointed. I think this book is a bit like Marmite, you’ll either love it or hate it, sorry, but that’s just my view.