Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

8 reviews

miller8d's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.5

Changed my relationship to books and reading. One of the best books I have ever read. I highlighted so many passages that the Kindle highlight collection was literally 26 pages long.

Cried several times both out of happiness and sadness. Beautifully captures the actual sensations of love and loss and grief, and the gorgeous nature of children and animals and family, queer love and neurodivergent pain, and so much more. Refreshing poetry and ridiculously beautiful world-building in such intricate historical contexts. Addressed so many different issues and experiences with such flair and emotion. Delivers anarchist / anti-establishment / leftist values from the optimistic perspective that to be human is to be a part of the problem, and yet, we must love one another and love the Earth in order to power through the pain of life in order to radically experience the love, because that’s why we are here.

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Racism, Physical abuse, Genocide, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Homophobia, Sexism, Abandonment, War, Slavery, Gun violence, Colonisation, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Child death, Child abuse, Suicide, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Racial slurs, Bullying, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, and Animal cruelty

I am very sensitive and I LOVED this book and found it deeply emotionally uplifting despite these very severe content warnings

thebowandthebook's review

emotional inspiring mysterious 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

4.75

Really enjoyed the novel, left me well satisfied at the end. Loved how he connected ever aspect of the stories and finished them neatly.

gay relationship

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Gun violence

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad 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? No

5.0

 Really, truly, spectacular. This is such a beautiful interwoven story spun across multiple lifetimes. It was delightful to see how each life connected with the other. Each character feels tangible and real, they all have so much depth and personality. Each plot-line is gripping and it is impossible to not feel for the characters. Seymour especially, I think, is beautifully written. His mental illness is incredibly accurately done, and he is never once demonized for it. Each character, despite their actions, kind or otherwise, is written and treated with respect and empathy. It's such a beautiful tale of humanity and kindness and struggle, and all of it is portrayed with such well researched nuance and intelligence. Definitely one of the best books if you want to feel something that is neither fully happy nor sad, but a cathartic combination of both. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Violence, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, Body shaming, Death of parent, War, Gun violence, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Religious bigotry, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Torture

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Islamophobia, Pedophilia, Classism, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Slavery, Alcohol, Dementia, Drug use, and Excrement

sapphicpenguin's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful

5.0

Absolutely stunning. You might have to take notes, and you'll immediately want to start it over again once you finish. The timelines this book weaves together are so alien to each other at first, but ancient Greek literature touches them all, and they're all so achingly human. Every single character matters and the nonlinearity of the plot is so intentional and meaningful. You're constantly surprised, left wondering. This book is about time, and hardship, and the futility of trying to escape those things. It's about librarians, too, and hope. It's about people. It'll stay with me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and War

Moderate: Child death and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide, Miscarriage, and Kidnapping

franklola's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, and Confinement

Moderate: Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Violence, Rape, War, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gun violence

Minor: Child death

bookishbeccahale's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Child abuse, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Animal death, Colonisation, Bullying, and Death of parent

purplepenning's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, and Torture

Minor: Excrement and Rape

leahrosiee's review against another edition

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

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Slavery, War, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, and Confinement

Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Murder