Cloud Cuckoo Land

A Novel

By: Anthony Doerr

Narrated by: Marin Ireland, Simon Jones

AudioFile Magazine’s Best Audiobooks of 2021

On the New York Times bestseller list for 19 weeks * A New York Times Notable Book * A Barack Obama Favorite * A National Book Award Finalist * Named a Best of the Year by Fresh Air, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, and many more—one of the ten books that appeared on the most lists for 2021

“If you’re looking for a superb novel, look no further.” —The Washington Post

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See, comes the instant New York Times bestseller that is a “wildly inventive, a humane and uplifting book for adults that’s infused with the magic of childhood reading experiences” (The New York Times Book Review).

Among the most celebrated and beloved novels of 2021, Anthony Doerr’s gorgeous third novel is a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story about children on the cusp of adulthood in worlds in peril, who find resilience, hope—and a book. In Cloud Cuckoo Land, Doerr has created a magnificent tapestry of times and places that reflects our vast interconnectedness—with other species, with each other, with those who lived before us, and with those who will be here after we’re gone.

Thirteen-year-old Anna, an orphan, lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople in a house of women who make their living embroidering the robes of priests. Restless, insatiably curious, Anna learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds a book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. This she reads to her ailing sister as the walls of the only place she has known are bombarded in the great siege of Constantinople. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, miles from home, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the invading army. His path and Anna’s will cross.

Five hundred years later, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno, who learned Greek as a prisoner of war, rehearses five children in a play adaptation of Aethon’s story, preserved against all odds through centuries. Tucked among the library shelves is a bomb, planted by a troubled, idealistic teenager, Seymour. This is another siege. And in a not-so-distant future, on the interstellar ship Argos, Konstance is alone in a vault, copying on scraps of sacking the story of Aethon, told to her by her father. She has never set foot on our planet.

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 gravest danger. Their lives are gloriously intertwined, and Doerr’s dazzling imagination transports us to worlds so dramatic and immersive that we forget, for a time, our own. Dedicated to “the librarians then, now, and in the years to come,” Cloud Cuckoo Land is a beautiful and redemptive novel about stewardship—of the book, of the Earth, of the human heart.

©2021 Anthony Doerr. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Books, stories, life

Characters to love
Stories to love
All the joy and pain of the world told again for hope and a life well-lived

Pure Genius, pure Pleasure

Hardly ever does the audible narration match the text, but this one is perfection. Anthony Doer surprises and delights in this enriching, entertaining novel so different from his other wonderful books. Read and
enjoy his prose and his plot.

Took awhile to get into

I found the story very hard to follow at first especially listening rather than reading but after I got familiar with all the characters it was much easier and I ended really enjoying the book.

Almost gave up, so glad I hung in there

Parts I wished he would have moved through more quickly i now want to go back and dig into more. There is genius in his vision for the whole arc of this story. About halfway through I could not put it down, by the end I was engulfed in the beauty of this story and it’s characters.

Definitely listen to this novel

Anthony Doerr delivers another wonderful tale to cherish and remember. Although the book differs greatly in its beautiful prose from “All the Light We cannot see,” the writing is beautiful in another way, in it’s carefully chosen text that when peeled back reveals the one constant; The one story that carefully connects time and distance through the lives of his interesting and nuanced characters.

Love this book!

Every sentence paints a picture in my head. Amazing story that ties together with great skill by the author.

As old as time..as new as a seed...

I loved this book...it's language, it's endearing plot and vivid characters. And ,You will too!

A Masterpiece

I know this book is not for everyone but for me it was an absolute work of art. This is my first review ever after listening to many books over the years. Hoping I'll convince just one person to give it a try and then listen to it with their full attention. This book really deserves it and so do you.

Hang on, it is worth it!

Another book I wish would not end. At first, I wondered if it could live up to All the Lights We Cannot See. Boy has it! I felt something even more connective to the author. Everything comes together with so much heart. Emphasizing what really matters.

Just wonderful!

Such a nice epic, following an ancient book through the ages from a falling Istanbul to an experimental “space ship” centuries from now. The way the author weaves the threads together is expert and captivating.