Anthony Doerr’s new novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land, reads like an academic literary suspense novel. If that sounds like an oxymoron, then you might get an idea of Doerr’s imagination and his exquisite command of language, including ancient Greek. Cloud Cuckoo Land is “about” apocalypse, mental illness, love, history, war, science, and more.
Perhaps one way to describe this befuddling book is to compare it with Midnight Library. Both pay homage to libraries and librarians past and future; however, where Midnight Library falls flat on ingenuity, Cloud Cukoo Land excels. Doerr pushes the limits of creativity and vision with elegant writing always striving for the impossible. Even though he may fall just short in clarity with a few things remaining murky and bewildering, Cloud Cukoo Land soars in ambition, originality, and language, and shows the depth and artistry of a literary master.
