Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
(Format used for this read: Audiobook)
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.
Doesn’t the summary sound JUST LIKE something I’d LOVE?
Well…I thought so too….but I DID NOT.
In fact, I did not even finish this one, yall.😑
Which is crazy because I can count on one hand the number of books I did not push thru and finish once I started reading.
Even if I HAAAATED a book (hello Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow), I PERSISTED.
But as I round out the second year in my 40s, I have become a changed person.
If something does not serve me as it should, I release that shit.
No regrets.
No worries.
Just BUH BYE BE GONE.
Books are for entertainment or enlightenment…..this one was providing NEITHER for me so it had to effing go.
Honestly, I can’t tell you exactly why I wasn’t into it….the premise started off so INTERESTING…but fact of the matter is I could not pay attention to what was happening because I was BORED.
I made it all the way to Chapter 6 and was like “Ok. I don’t even know who this is or what they are doing and I really do not care… I have now drifted into other areas of my brain for other engaging content.”
Definitely NOT how you wanna be absorbing a book 🤦♀️
I gave this one a solid chance…but had to just shut it down, yall and move the F on.
Too many books in this world to force myself to engage with one I ain’t feeling….
I finished this book last week. A neighbor recommended it, so I suggested it for one of my book clubs. Big mistake! Not a fan either. I was half way through before it started coming together. That’s way too far into a book before finally capturing someone’s attention!!