Reviews

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

dcunitz's review against another edition

4.0

“‘At home,’ he says, ‘in Scheria, an irrigation ditch ran behind the house. Even after it dried up, even on the hottest days, there was always a surprise if you knelt there long enough. An airborne seed, or a weevil, or a brave little starflower, all by itself.’”

notcreativeusername's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

vicky523's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

kandersen6's review against another edition

5.0

One of the best books I've read in a long time. I loved, loved this.

Beautifully written, about stories, libraries, librarians, the precious nature of books, the environment, relationships... and on and on.

So cleverly told, so that seemingly unconnected stories from the past, present and future eventually intertwine. We are all connected, and this book demonstrates that in spades.

kletersky's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

violetblue's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

5.0

nickyzak's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

threedimen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

cayleigh's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“By age seventeen hed convinced himself that every human he saw was a parasite, captive to the dictates of consumption. But as he reconstructs Zeno's translation, he realizes that the truth is infinitely more complicated, that we are all beautiful even as we are all part of the problem, and that to be a part of the problem is to be human.”

Writing this review after a prolonged period of staring at the wall, being simultaneously satisfied with how the story ended but also disoriented from the emotional upheaval it caused me.

I like weird books. I have read a lot of weird books. This book was not weird in the sense I’d use to describe other, weird books, but it was not normal. This book starts off with 3 seemingly unrelated timeline, excerpts of an ancient story, chapter titles that literally meant nothing to me, and 600 pages and a dream later left me with a horrible book hangover. This book was the definition of a slow burn, with me spending the first third wondering what the heck was happening, the second third wondering what the heck was going to happen next, and the last third finding out in a singular sitting. This book had so much to offer and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to capture it all without extensive rereading and annotating.

The only thing preventing me from having this be a perfect book was that I didn’t feel as connected to the Omeir and Anna’s story until the end, whereas I was invested in Zeno from the start, and Konstance soon after. Although I saw another reviewer say that perhaps this is part of the nuanced world-building of Cloud Cuckoo Land, that despite differences and even a lack of relatability, we’re still able to pick out some connections between ourselves and people of any time. 

Finally, this book reminded me of the joy of reading a long, albeit difficult novel and spurred me to check off some of the ones I’ve been most afraid of reading. 

gabi___mn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0