From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See comes a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story of resilience, hope – and a book.
Bound together by a single ancient text, the unforgettable characters of Cloud Cuckoo Land are dreamers and outsiders figuring out the world around them: Anna and Omeir, an orphaned seamstress and a cursed boy, on opposite sides of the formidable city walls during the 1453 siege of Constantinople; teenage idealist Seymour and octogenarian Zeno in an attack on a public library in present-day Idaho; and Konstance, decades from now, who turns to the oldest stories to guide her community in peril.
Anthony Doerr has created a tapestry of times and places that reflect our own vast interconnectedness – with other species, with each other, with those who lived before us, and those who will be here long after we’re gone. Dedicated to ‘the librarians then, now, and in the years to come,’ Cloud Cuckoo Land is a beautiful and redemptive novel about stewardship – of the book, of the Earth, of the human heart.
Doerr’s novel All the Light We Cannot See won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015 and spent over 200 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, becoming a beloved global bestseller. Now he returns with his highly anticipated new novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land. It is vastly different from the WWII-set All the Light We Cannot See, yet it shares Doerr’s magical storytelling quality, once again showcasing his ability to craft a remarkable and moving story.
Cloud Cuckoo Land is the definition of an epic, sweeping novel. At over 600 pages, this is a lengthy novel, yet I found myself invested in each character’s story. Once I began to connect the dots between characters and timelines, it became an absolute page-turner. From the medieval city of Constantinople where two teenagers face peril trying to save ancient manuscripts, to the frontlines of the Korean War, a contemporary small-town in Idaho, and a spaceship hurtling away from a ravaged Earth, this book takes us to different corners of the Earth, in different eras. What at first seems like fragmented chapters are soon woven together into a stunning, genre-bending work of fiction.
The protagonists are connected by their fighting spirits and their search for meaning and purpose in a damaged world. The way Doerr unveils each of their stories is nothing short of magnificent, and the final few chapters are an incredibly rewarding reading experience. At the heart of their individual stories, lies the power of the ancient Greek manuscript ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land,’ which tells the mythical tale of Aethon. It provides hope and inspiration at different moments throughout the novel. Above all, Cloud Cuckoo Land explores how books and libraries can connect people across the ages – just like they do in this marvellous story.
Cloud Cuckoo Land is the kind of book that stays with you long after turning the final page. It’s just the kind of ambitious tale about the human spirit we need in 2021. Readers who enjoyed Doerr’s previous work will once again admire his remarkable talents here.
Leave a Reply