Review - Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Anthony Doerr’s new novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land, is unlike anything I have read before. This book follows five different characters (Konstance, Zeno, Seymour, Omeir, and Anna), detailing their lives lived in different times and places, eventually weaving them together. Konstance is a girl living aboard a spaceship in the future. Zeno is a retired snowplow driver and amateur translator in Idaho. Seymour is a troubled teenager who wants to save the world. Omeir is a young man with facial deformities conscripted into war. Anna is a book lover stuck in a city under siege. They are all tied together by the story of Cloud Cuckoo Land.
This book takes the reader on an adventure around the globe (and beyond) while also showing the different forms of isolation each of the characters experiences. While reading this book, I felt immersed in each character’s unique situation, feeling their loneliness and despair along with them, but also feeling their hope. These characters are nothing if not resilient.
I loved this book. It blends genres of historical, contemporary, and science fiction. It is magical, epic, and extremely human. But it’s not perfect. In the end, I found myself wanting to know why. I think Doerr was intentional in leaving some questions unanswered. After all, those unanswered questions have left me thinking about this book long after finishing it. And ultimately, this book is about the power of literature to change the world—one person at a time.
Cloud Cuckoo Land is set for release on September 28, 2021.
