"Sometimes, the things we think are lost are only hidden, waiting to be rediscovered."
Sadly, we all have seasons in our lives when we're MIA from books for a minute. My book-starved season is now—the current hurdle of grad school has swallowed my dedicated reading time whole—instead I’ve been chewing on textbooks and research papers for the past nine months. My month-long semester break means I need to get in as many good reads as possible. I turned to my trusted ladies for a recent release that would start my month strong. As always, Rachel and Tray don't disappoint!
I first fell in love with Anthony Doerr's writing in the summer of 2016. On a commuter train from New York City to New Canaan, Connecticut, I devoured All The Light We Cannot See in two days. I could've finished it in hours if it weren't for a pesky, high-demand internship. Will it surprise that I’d go so far as to take the book into the bathroom to steal a page or two?!?
Similar to ATLWCS, Cloud Cuckoo Land is a brilliantly woven together tapestry of stories with a beautiful overarching message at the end. Set in Constantinople and the Bulgarian Forests during the 1450s with Anna and Omeir; Lakefront, Idaho in 2020 with Seymour and Zeno; and years into the “not-so-distant future” on space mission Argos with Konstance, Doerr details the story of those five characters whose lives are brought together in a single strand. All find their way to the translations of the Greek tale of Atheon (Cloud Cuckoo Land)—a shepherd on a quest to find the city of dreams in a cloud. It may sound like a bad bar joke, but in true Doerr fashion, the book is paced out to come to a point in the five individuals' lives that showcase how transformative and influential books and stories can be.
Cloud Cuckoo Land rekindled my love of reading quicker than you can say veracious. Doerr took me back to those days of trying to squeeze out every moment possible to turn great pages. I wouldn't call the first 150-200 pages slow, but I would call them steady. A wealth of information is shared upfront for the reader to remember as the story picks up in the next 400—a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Of note: This book would be tough to Audible because there are essentially five different stories you’re jumping back and forth between – click the link above and get yourself a physical copy! You won’t be sorry. One more thing, I've been asked if this book is better than All The Light We Cannot See. I stand in Tracy's camp that ATLWCS is a timeless classic. But Cloud Cuckoo Land is a brilliant way to rediscover a good story.
Posted by Michelle