Scan barcode
A review by deedireads
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Cloud Cuckoo Land was a fun-to-read, moving book, but it was definitely not perfect. I liked it, but certain aspects left me a little uncomfortable.
For you if: Like stories with multiple timelines, and/or literary fiction with more emphasis on plot.
FULL REVIEW:
Cloud Cuckoo Land was one of the most highly anticipated books of the fall, if not the year, and it’s a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award. I really enjoyed reading it, but when I finished, I couldn’t quite bring myself to say I loved it.
First, the good: The plot — three distinct timelines tied together by a single story, emphasizing the timelessness of our stories and the importance of unearthing, preserving, and enhancing them — was a lot of fun to read. Parts of the present-day timeline read nearly like a thriller, which definitely makes the book a page turner. You’ll fly through its nearly 600 pages. It was also emotional and, in places, deeply empathetic.
Then the not-so-good: First, for a book with central themes *about* climate change, its environmentalism felt surface-level at best, a cheap grab for a plot device at worst. It didn’t really say anything new or present any useful ideas about our current reality or where we go from here.
And second — and this is where I’m sort of conflicted — one of the main characters is neurodivergent (possibly ASD, at least sensory processing disorder), but his character arc is uncomfortable. He’s manipulated into radical ecoterrorism. On the one hand, I actually thought from an individual character perspective, it was well done. Your heart really breaks for Seymour at every turn, and it’s easy to see exactly how and why this happened to him. But on the other hand, we still live in a world where neurodivergent representation isn’t mainstream enough to be able to show someone easily manipulated into violence without the danger of feeding problematic stereotypes. I think ultimately I’m less than comfortable with the choice, but I also really did love Seymour. It’s just hard to expect the world to read him as an individual instead of as part of a larger narrative about neurodivergence, violence, and the world we live in.
Ultimately, I’m glad I read it, and like I said, it was a really fun, entertaining read. But it’s far from perfect.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Cloud Cuckoo Land was a fun-to-read, moving book, but it was definitely not perfect. I liked it, but certain aspects left me a little uncomfortable.
For you if: Like stories with multiple timelines, and/or literary fiction with more emphasis on plot.
FULL REVIEW:
Cloud Cuckoo Land was one of the most highly anticipated books of the fall, if not the year, and it’s a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award. I really enjoyed reading it, but when I finished, I couldn’t quite bring myself to say I loved it.
First, the good: The plot — three distinct timelines tied together by a single story, emphasizing the timelessness of our stories and the importance of unearthing, preserving, and enhancing them — was a lot of fun to read. Parts of the present-day timeline read nearly like a thriller, which definitely makes the book a page turner. You’ll fly through its nearly 600 pages. It was also emotional and, in places, deeply empathetic.
Then the not-so-good: First, for a book with central themes *about* climate change, its environmentalism felt surface-level at best, a cheap grab for a plot device at worst. It didn’t really say anything new or present any useful ideas about our current reality or where we go from here.
And second — and this is where I’m sort of conflicted — one of the main characters is neurodivergent (possibly ASD, at least sensory processing disorder), but his character arc is uncomfortable. He’s manipulated into radical ecoterrorism. On the one hand, I actually thought from an individual character perspective, it was well done. Your heart really breaks for Seymour at every turn, and it’s easy to see exactly how and why this happened to him. But on the other hand, we still live in a world where neurodivergent representation isn’t mainstream enough to be able to show someone easily manipulated into violence without the danger of feeding problematic stereotypes. I think ultimately I’m less than comfortable with the choice, but I also really did love Seymour. It’s just hard to expect the world to read him as an individual instead of as part of a larger narrative about neurodivergence, violence, and the world we live in.
Ultimately, I’m glad I read it, and like I said, it was a really fun, entertaining read. But it’s far from perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Confinement and Violence