Cloud Cuckoo Land

Loved the book, great read

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..

I liked this book for many reasons, although I could not read Doerr’s last book. But this one has all the right material: Aristophanes, comedy, a few brushes with tragedy, the same story told several different ways in several different eras and countries. The language is fun — Doerr likes to plays with words, not something I noticed in his previous book. The characters are all ages just as the story is ageless. It is ok not to be a hero, but it is ok to be a hero if someone needs a hero. People need to survive but not everyone. Life is about surviving, maybe not everyone but a good portion to start again and maybe learn from mistakes of the past. If books from the past survive, or even scraps of the past survive, that should be enough. Memory, knowledge, practical skills, language, these are tools we need to survive. Sacrifice of self is only worth it if survival of the species is at stake. And you’d better be right in your judgment of what is worthwhile. Otherwise you’ve thrown away something precious that might have preserved life.

What a captivating masterpiece is it! Three different stories in three different time periods spanning hundred of years with so many layers and how they all come together to create this spectacular book is amazing. I loved all the characters, and they felt so real. Beautiful prose. Descriptive, yet rich, and emotional. I am amazed at the brilliant mind of Anthony Doerr to have pictured this imagery.Initially, it was a little confusing but I persevered through it and was delighted to see how all the threads of the different stories weave together to create the fabric of the picturesque Cloud Cuckoo Land.

I’d already read a couple of Doerr’s novels, and so was delighted to find this one, and it didn’t let me down in any way. I found the writing full of imagery and insight. The variety of characters and their various histories spread across time and through the book never lost my interest, and made for a highly effective choral narrative. The barbarity of humans and the horrors we have inflicted on ourselves, but above all on animals and nature itself is told with no sense of preaching but emerges through the characters’ own experiences of life in the various eras that the story narrates. A thoroughly enjoyable read, yet at the same time a very serious book that left me feeling a sense of unease about our species and above all our planet. Absolutely recommended.