Doerr’s characters are astoundingly resilient, suggesting that we may yet save ourselves, with literature an essential tool.” Following his Pulitzer winner ‘ All the Light We Cannot See,’ Anthony Doerr’s ‘ Cloud Cuckoo Land’ is a deep lungful of fresh air–and a gift of a novel.” “There is a kind of book a seasoned writer produces after a big success: large-hearted, wide in scope, and joyous. He has created a tapestry of times and places that reflects our vast interconnectedness-with other species, with each other, with those who lived before us, and those who will be here after we’re gone.ĭedicated to “the librarians then, now, and in the years to come,” Cloud Cuckoo Land is a paean to the extraordinary human capacity to transmit stories from generation to generation and a novel about stewardship-of books, of our shared planet, and of the human heart. A book written in ancient Greek-the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky-provides solace and mystery to these unforgettable characters.ĭoerr’s dazzling imagination transports us to worlds so dramatic and immersive that we forget, for a time, our own. Like Marie-Laure and Werner in All the Light We Cannot See, Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance are dreamers and outsiders who find resourcefulness and hope in the midst of peril. A humane and uplifting book for adults that’s infused with the magic of childhood reading experiences.” - MARCEL THEROUX, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW “If you’re looking for a superb novel, look no further.” –BETHANNE PATRICK, WASHINGTON POSTįive protagonists dwell in the heart of Cloud Cuckoo Land: Anna and Omeir, on opposite sides of the city walls during the 1453 siege of Constantinople teenage idealist Seymour and octogenarian Zeno in an attack on a public library in present-day Idaho and Konstance, on an interstellar ship bound for an exoplanet, decades from now.

Finalist for the National Book Award Shortlisted for the British Book Award winner of Le Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine (American Literature Grand Prize), France shortlisted FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY PRIZE, IRELAND Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for excellence in fiction finalist for le Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire, France finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction A NEW YORK times notable book of 2021 A time best book of 2021 An npr/Fresh Air Best book of 2021 by Maureen corrigan an Entertainment weekly Best Book of 2021 an oprah daily best book of 2021 one of barack obama’s favorite books of 2021 Winner of the 2022 Ohioana Book Award for Fiction Finalist for the Barnes & NoBLE Book of the YeaR A #1 IndieNext Pick for October 2021 “ a wildly inventive novel that teems with life, straddles an enormous range of experience and learning, and embodies the storytelling gifts that it celebrates.

Cloud cuckoo land synopsis