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Cloud Cuckoo Land

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Cloud Cuckoo Land

By: Anthony Doerr
Narrated by: Marin Ireland, Simon Jones
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About this listen

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST‘A dazzling epic of love, war and the joy of books’ Guardian

‘There is magic in this place … You just have to sit and breathe and wait and it will find you’

Fifteenth-century Constantinople. Present day Idaho. The future, and humanity’s last hope.

Across time and space, five young dreamers are bound by a single ancient text. Together, they tell a story of a world in peril; of the power of words, of resilience, and of hope against all odds.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See returns with a heart-breaking, magnificent epic of human connection and a love letter to storytelling itself.

‘Wonderment and despair, love and destruction and hope – all find their place in its sumptuously plotted pages’ Observer

‘Ingenious, hopeful and totally absorbing’ Financial Times

‘This engagingly written, big-hearted book is a must-read’ Daily Mirror

©2021 Anthony Doerr (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Medieval Metaphysical & Visionary Funny Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Witty Middle Ages Survival Resilience

Critic Reviews

‘Sets him comfortably alongside Tolkien, Rowling and David Mitchell, and he is a much more elegant writer than two of thoseCloud Cuckoo Land is an impressive achievement and a joy to read. Serious novels are rarely this fun.The Times

‘There is a kind of book a seasoned writer produces after a big success: large-hearted, wide in scope and joyous. 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 novelGuardian

‘A paean to stories as a source of sustenance and solace, and to the sweetness of our shared terrestrial home, Doerr’s narrative is buoyant with humanity and it’s author’s palpable pleasure in inventionDaily Mail

A humane and uplifting book for adults that’s infused with the magic of childhood reading experiences. Cloud Cuckoo Land is ultimately a celebration of books, the power and possibilities of reading New York Times

Cloud Cuckoo Land is a fascinatingly ambitious tale that’s worth the seven year waitStylist

‘Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Doerr’s new novel traverses time and space, unifying his characters through a text written by Diogenes in the first century AD. Cloud Cuckoo Land begins there and sweeps through the millennia in a huge, imaginative arc that celebrates the outsiders, the writers and the keepers of books. An ultimately hopeful and life-affirming novel about the essence of love, literature and artIrish Independent

‘This is a dazzling epic of love, war and the joy of books – one for David Mitchell fans’ Guardian

Wonderment and despair, love and destruction and hope – all find their place in its sumptuously plotted pages’ Observer

All stars
Most relevant  
The story is wonderful - stories within stories. Cleverly woven together with characters that are achingly human. It is about love, family, heroes and the small folk who go unnoticed,and the interconnection of our world. Above all it is about hope.
I feel I must read the hard copy to understand all the nuances of this great saga!!

A magnificent adventure

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A web of tales across time and space becalmed one story. Doer is a masterful novelist- highly recommended!

Extraordinary novel

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Complex and fanciful , a huge undertaking that you will go back to again and again. A mammoth text that is unforgettable!

Phenomenal Read

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I really enjoyed this audio book, highly recommend. Was a struggle to keep up with at first and needed to rewind if I wasn't paying attention to what I was listening too.

Thoroughly enjoyed

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I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Equal to "All the light we cannot see". The story gets better as it rolls along. Thank goodness for authors like Anthony Doerr.

Brilliant. Entertaining. Thought provoking.

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Such a beautiful story and told so well. I just want to start it all over again! I hope it’s made into a movie!!

Moving and thought provoking

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The wonderful connected nature of the characters and the beautiful performance by the narrator made this book such a pleasure to experience.

Loved every minute!

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Loved this. Wonderful, thoughtful story. I fully recommend this for anyone who enjoys a science fiction and literature

Satisfyingly complex

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Even though it is very obviously telegraphed that the characters' stories need to interact in some way beyond just the preservation of the manuscript, when it becomes clear how this is going to happen it's no less dazzling. Not quite Owen Meany levels of "wow" but not far off. A lovely read.

Brilliantly spun

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What an imagination! Such a clever book and so beautifully written. I have to admit I wasn't sure about it to start, but after a couple of chapters I was hooked. I loved the different storylines, connections and resolution. The narrator was excellent. I'm really going to struggle to find something to captivate me as much as this book did.

Absolutely brilliant!

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