Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve been on vacation this week, so I’ve been having fun with my hubby and writing. I had an epiphany with one of my stories. I changed the beginning, and my beta reader says it’s better. I also put the finishing touches on another story. So, I’ve gotten a lot accomplished in the writing arena this week.
I’ve also been having fun with my family, but I do have teenagers and they don’t think it’s cool to hang out with Mom and Dad so much anymore. Sob. They’re growing up. They’re great kids though and I’m very proud of them. But enough about that. Don’t get me started on my kids because I’ll talk about them all day long.
Today, I want to talk about something more fun than my last couple of posts. I’ve been more on the serious side in those posts, so I thought I’d talk about something lighter. I thought I’d talk about what I’ve been reading. I loved Anthony Doerr’s “All the Light We Cannot See,” so when his newest story came out “Cloud Cuckoo Land,” I was excited and picked it up right away.
The cover and blurb are below:
On the New York Times bestseller list for over 20 weeks * A New York Times Notable Book * A Barack Obama Favorite * A National Book Award Finalist * Named a Best Book of the Year by Fresh Air, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, and many more
“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 recent times, Cloud Cuckoo Land 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 the 15th century, an orphan named Anna lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople. She learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds what might be the last copy of a centuries-old 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. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the army that will lay siege to the city. His path and Anna’s will cross.
In the present day, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno rehearses 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.
Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance are dreamers and outsiders whose lives are gloriously intertwined. Doerr’s dazzling imagination transports us to worlds so dramatic and immersive that we forget, for a time, our own.
My Thoughts:
First, I liked his first book much better. This one took me a while to get into and connect with the characters, but once I did, I enjoyed the story. This is more of a dystopian kind of story and the survival of a book through the ages. It was interesting, but not my usual kind of read. I was hoping for another story like “All the Light You Cannot See,” but I was disappointed. I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I did in the Anthony Doerr’s first story and I feel that’s the reason for my lukewarm reception. So, there you have it my thoughts on “Cloud Cuckoo Land.” How about you? Have you been doing any reading this summer? Leave a recommendation! I’d love to hear from you!
