A review by evanmcomer
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

This is a book that is hard to classify. Is it literary fiction? Historical fiction? Science fiction? All three? Regardless of what you call it, the characters are richly written, and the three stories are each compelling in their own right. This is a 600 page book that, at times, reads like a thriller. About two-thirds of the way through, I learned something that made me want to cry. And at the end, I found myself wanting to hug this book and read it again. The central theme is so brilliantly summed up by this line: “The world as it is is enough.” This is probably the easiest five-star review I’ve given all year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Islamophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, and War