Cloud Cuckoo Land: Ch 1-7

Hello Reader & Writer listeners! This week, Rhea and I are beginning a new book: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. In this episode we spend considerable time talking about Anthony Doerr and his “theory of everything” masterfully contained inside this book. We dive into the story’s strange structure: three time periods, five protagonists, and the magical myth of Aethon running throughout. We talk about quest stories. We fumble through the first seven chapters of the story, trying to make sense of each character’s situation and how each one rhymes with the others through simple repetitions and woven through motifs.

Here are the links to the interviews mentioned in the episode:

• Free Library of Philadelphia Interview with John Freeman

• Writers Symposium by the Sea interview with Dean Nelson (on All the Light We Cannot See)

• Anthony Doerr’s website

• Anthony Doerr on The Louisiana Channel

Here is the schedule for the rest of Cloud Cuckoo Land:

• July 16: Chapters 1-7

• July 23: Chapters 8-12

• July 30: Chapters 13-19

• Aug 6: Chapters 20-24

Finally, a head’s up on what we’ll be reading next, as we’ve made a change. Rather than tackle three YA novels over six weeks giving none of them due diligence, we’ve decided to focus on Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayari. Afterwards, we’ll be reading some of The Arabian Nights, which Everything Sad… is written (loosely) in concert with. Everything Sad… will begin either Aug. 13th or Aug 20th, and run for three episodes.

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