Reviews with content warning for Murder - Cloud Cuckoo Land

I am torn on how to rate this book. I give the first half two stars, but the second half deserves a strong four star rating. This book was very slow to start and, being 600 pages long, that’s not good for me as a reader. If I hadn’t seen the reviews, this probably would have been a DNF for me.

The beginning is very confusing because there are four different storylines, four different time periods, and within those time periods, the story jumps forward and backward. For me, this was really hard to keep track of and I ended up marking and color coding each of the story changes with tabs at the top of the book so that when I came back to a certain storyline I could flip back to the last couple of sections and remember where I was in the story. It was also very boring for about the first 250 pages. I mean, it literally put me to sleep a few times.

Around p.350 (over halfway through) the story began to pick up steam and became interesting. I was able to read the latter part of the book in just a couple days, whereas the first half took me nearly 3 weeks. In the end, I am glad I finished it. The stories do eventually come together and the pieces start to fall into place.

I loved Zeno’s story and he was lovable, but also heartbreaking. Anna and Omeir’s story was my favorite one for so many reasons, but mainly it’s how their story ended that solidified their place at #1 for me. The book ending was a really good balance of leaving it open ended and, at the same time, tying up loose ends. It gave much cause for reflection about one’s self, interpersonal relationships, the world, and preservation and value of history.

While, by the end, I enjoyed both of this author’s books, I am unlikely to pick up another of his. The stories are extremely long (but with beautiful imagery!) and slow to start, and the man has a serious grudge against commas. I cannot get over the lack of comma usage and the amount of temporary confusion it causes me throughout the book. If you haven’t read either of his books, I do recommend you read at least one of his! He’s not the author for me, but I can see how his style would be good for other types of readers!

Content Warnings

cianarae's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Content Warnings

leahrosiee's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a story about amazement, literacy, time, and memory. Five characters show how stories are passed along through time. How a book, in their case the story of Cloud Cuckoo Land, can hold someone together through all the shit life is putting them through and connect them to people they will never know across the world and throughout time.
Each character has so much in common despite such vastly different circumstances.

I found myself more drawn to certain storylines than others, which made it a little slow. Anthony Doerr really said “I could go into heavy detail, and I will, I will go into heavy detail”. I cannot tell you how many pages were dedicated to two of the characters waiting for a war to begin.
Despite that, there is no denying how expertly the author weaves stories together and what an incredible book this is.
So …. I don’t know what to think. But I think I love it.

Side note: if you aren’t already outraged by how little our society values librarians, this book will help solidify that for you, I promise.

Content Warnings

steffisbookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is the best book I’ve ever read! I’m not joking. I read a lot and I can confidently say that this is a book for people who love books. NEVER BEFORE have I been so drawn in and impressed by characters. Doerr expertly weaves all three stories together flawlessly. This book is a commentary on the importance of literature as a whole. I’m sad that I can’t rate this book higher. Please please please read this.

Content Warnings