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A review by neuro_chef
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.75
Stories, at their best, are conduits for human emotion. They span centuries and continents, permeating every inch of the world and instilling in it hope, beauty, wonder, and adventure. They speak to us regardless of the year and place, and connect every person who reads them with the same sense of light and color as it has for their ancestors generations earlier, and as it will for their descendants, decades after.
Cloud Cuckoo land, at its core, is an ode to stories. A love letter to books and those who write them, to stories and those who pass them on throughout generations, and to knowledge and those who spend their lives protecting and storing it.
The book follows five people across six hundred years, three continents, and one spaceship, from their childhood to their twilight years, all inexorably linked to each other through one story. The beauty of the book comes from piecing together the puzzle of these characters' stories, linking them together piece by piece and understanding the intertwined stories that the author has intricately woven together. While it might seem daunting to have to navigate such different worlds and seemingly individual stories, it is anything but. Every single story is easy to follow and incredibly captivating, seemingly starting at the edges of our understanding then carefully all converging at the end of the book, leaving the reader with a sense of what can only be described as elatedness.
The characters can best be described as mediums for the themes of the book to present themselves through, with many of them representing a mix of ideas and aspects that the book is trying to convey to the reader. That is not to say they are not interesting or captivating on their own, quite the contrary. Even though we follow them for most of their lives, not a single one feels overplayed, boring, or milked.
The prose is beautifully written. Doerr's words dance off the page, I was transported to the world and truly felt like I could see, smell, and feel the beautifully crafted vistas and bustling 15th century cities the author has laid out for us. It felt like an exploration, with the author giving us the base to imagine his world and leaving us to explore and imagine the rest, playing into the theme of adventure and wonder that so carefully injected into every chapter.
The book is extremely critical of the role of technology in the shaping, or destruction of societies. This juxtaposition is evident in how technology drives different aspects of the story forward, with its either negative or positive effects. This contrast can be easily missed as its hidden behind the more obvious themes.
Speaking of obvious themes, the book, like many, is a warning letter to our effect on the climate, and offers stringent criticism on how giant conglomerates shift blame from themselves and place it on the individual, and how they neuter the outcry of many an activist by making insignificant changes (like changing plastic straws to paper) In addition, it provides commentary on those who are willing to commit heinous acts against innocent bystanders in an ill-fated attempt to change the status quo or as a message. This also speaks to the idea placing individuals as the ones to blame, not the corporations and multinational conglomerates.
There is one more very apparent message within the book that, in my opinion, is the most important and heartwarming one, but I feel like its effects will be much more impactful if the reader discovers it for themselves so I'll keep myself from saying it.
Few books leave me with such a sense of warmness at the end, with such pride to call myself a reader. And maybe that's why I loved the book so much, but that is also why I can guarantee that this is a book for book lovers. This is a story for the dreamers and lovers of the world. This is a chronicle for us who want to live with a little more color in our lives, and use black words on a white background to do it.
Cloud Cuckoo land, at its core, is an ode to stories. A love letter to books and those who write them, to stories and those who pass them on throughout generations, and to knowledge and those who spend their lives protecting and storing it.
The book follows five people across six hundred years, three continents, and one spaceship, from their childhood to their twilight years, all inexorably linked to each other through one story. The beauty of the book comes from piecing together the puzzle of these characters' stories, linking them together piece by piece and understanding the intertwined stories that the author has intricately woven together. While it might seem daunting to have to navigate such different worlds and seemingly individual stories, it is anything but. Every single story is easy to follow and incredibly captivating, seemingly starting at the edges of our understanding then carefully all converging at the end of the book, leaving the reader with a sense of what can only be described as elatedness.
The characters can best be described as mediums for the themes of the book to present themselves through, with many of them representing a mix of ideas and aspects that the book is trying to convey to the reader. That is not to say they are not interesting or captivating on their own, quite the contrary. Even though we follow them for most of their lives, not a single one feels overplayed, boring, or milked.
The prose is beautifully written. Doerr's words dance off the page, I was transported to the world and truly felt like I could see, smell, and feel the beautifully crafted vistas and bustling 15th century cities the author has laid out for us. It felt like an exploration, with the author giving us the base to imagine his world and leaving us to explore and imagine the rest, playing into the theme of adventure and wonder that so carefully injected into every chapter.
The book is extremely critical of the role of technology in the shaping, or destruction of societies. This juxtaposition is evident in how technology drives different aspects of the story forward, with its either negative or positive effects. This contrast can be easily missed as its hidden behind the more obvious themes.
Speaking of obvious themes, the book, like many, is a warning letter to our effect on the climate, and offers stringent criticism on how giant conglomerates shift blame from themselves and place it on the individual, and how they neuter the outcry of many an activist by making insignificant changes (like changing plastic straws to paper) In addition, it provides commentary on those who are willing to commit heinous acts against innocent bystanders in an ill-fated attempt to change the status quo or as a message. This also speaks to the idea placing individuals as the ones to blame, not the corporations and multinational conglomerates.
There is one more very apparent message within the book that, in my opinion, is the most important and heartwarming one, but I feel like its effects will be much more impactful if the reader discovers it for themselves so I'll keep myself from saying it.
Few books leave me with such a sense of warmness at the end, with such pride to call myself a reader. And maybe that's why I loved the book so much, but that is also why I can guarantee that this is a book for book lovers. This is a story for the dreamers and lovers of the world. This is a chronicle for us who want to live with a little more color in our lives, and use black words on a white background to do it.