When Anna is 8, she hears someone reciting a poem in Greek (which turns out to be from Homers The Odyssey, though she doesnt know that) when she is out fetching wine. Its dark because its night outside. Zeno hires a carpenter for set construction. He talks to various people. At one point scientists must have thought Earth was no longer habitable for the long term, and set up this pod of people so that the species would have a better chance to continue. Then, he starts to travel, asking some people if they recognize the image on the snuffbox. His task is made more difficult because he doesnt know Rexs unit or commanding officer. Inside the vault, Konstance discovers what happened at the Lakeport Library in 2020. When he tries to reach for her sack, she screams. Idaho State Correctional Institute / 2021 2030. There, she can access the Atlas which contains a walkable, freeze-framed version of the entirety of Earth. [I don't think they knew they were on Earth. She explores through the city and into the the more remote areas. Years later, there is a flood at the cottage. Hence . What was the point of the experiment, given that K was able to live on earth and have children? She's able to buy multiple blessings, but they don't work (since holy water is just mercury mixed with water). However, eventually a sense of restlessness fills him. On-stage, the maid (played by Rachel) reassures Aethon (Alex) that shell find fresh roses for him to eat which will undo the transformation. Before he arrives back in town finally, he feels anxious. Their director is 86-year-old Zeno. They tell her that they believe the ancients traveled to places all over the world, some that we dont even know about nowadays, and they are seeking an account of those travels. Your email address will not be published. He demands that Seymour come back downstairs or else he'll go give the backpack (with the bomb) to the police outside. Anna hates needlework. That night, Anna helps with hauling stones to be dropped on the heads of the invaders. For weeks, he doesnt see Trustyfriend at all. Maher talks to Omeir about the spoils of war that he will claim for himself. When she awakes, he gives her some food. Anna is nicknamed Monkey by the nuns (because she likes to climb), Mosquito by the neighborhood boys (because they find her annoying) and Hopeless by the Head Embroideress Widow Theodora (because Anna is hopeless at stitching, which Anna finds boring). She sees lines of words written in Greek welcoming her in. She sees theres a bird on a spit over the fire and nothing else. Sybil also tells her that she has enough food powder for 6,526 meals. She passes away when she is 54. He mistakenly transforms first into a donkey then into a fish, as he travels the world inconvenienced at every turn. Seymour sees the clouds and trees decorating the stage. As they sit next to their campfire, he sees the girl read from her book. Seymour began adding his first owls some where between 2021 and 2030 while in jail. In the book, Aethon-the-crow looks down at Earth from above, feeling hopeless. He talks about how after Aethon-the-donkey made his escape, he went searching for a rose. Hes been waiting for the library to empty out, and he believes it should be empty now. She spends her time wandering through a simulation of Earth, known as the Atlas, in the ships virtual library. The redacted documentation in the library regarding the habitability of the planet and the inability of the Argos to survive in space for a long journey indicate that hibernation and preservation were the best hopes for humanity in the face of relentless human-induced climate change. Pastor White helps Zeno get a job working for the county highway department. He identifies himself as Ethan from Nannup, Australia who loves botany. Along the way, he has many adventures (transformed into a donkey, captured, escapes, transformed into a fish, eaten by a sea creature, transformed into a crow, etc.) I think the same thing happens with Argos Ilium just lost interest, even with humans still alive in the structure. Aethon manages the right answer, and the gates open. When she wakes, the moon is out. The second day, however, he gets caught in a frightful storm. Anna continues to read to Maria. Throughout the novel, the power of storytelling and the preservation of stories as a means to ease maddening circumstances and prolong life were evident. Afterwards, Zeno adopts a dog and names him Luther. If this summary was useful to you, please consider supporting this site by leaving a tip ($2, $3, or $5) or joining the Patreon! He plans to hide the backpack in the library, which is next to Edens Gate Realty. At some point after its "launch" Ilium possibly dissolved or diminished as an entity, and/or climatic conditions caused an apocalyptic setback in society's functioning capacity. This chapter opens with an excerpt from Folio of Cloud Cuckoo Land. He confronts her and tells her about the priory on the rock which he says is filled with things of great antiquity and value. Cloud-cuckoo-land definition, an idealized, illusory domain of imagination; cloudland: the cloud-cuckoo-land of technicolor cartoon whimsy. "Cloud Cuckoo Land" is told in a series of manuscripts that has survived through the centuries by the sheer will of those to whom the story has touched - and which over the centuries ends up . Meanwhile, Zeno has been struggling unhappily with his translations. She points out that if Diogenes was writing to his dying niece that the point of a story is that is gets passed on, then he wouldnt have Aethon stay in Cloud Cuckoo Land. He implores her to transform him into a bird so he can reach the city in the clouds where all needs are met and no one suffers. They are fond of Omeir, and he teaches them to plow the fields. In this section, Aethon announces that hes leaving for Thessaly, the Land of Magic. 10 months ago. Natalie theories that hes unable to just settle down there because hes always burning inside. When the last construction truck leaves around 7 oclock on Wednesday, Seymour takes one of the grenades and goes into one of the homes under construction (that still needs a doorknob) next to the model home. Various scraps of paper are littered around her with bits of her writing on them. It propels him past the moon and into the stars. He sets up traps in the forest, but they continue to be empty. Moonlight and Tree continue to be put to work without any time to rest, like the rest of the animals. Seymour spots a 32-foot-long RV with hydraulic jacks, a satellite dish aand two air-conditioning units attached idling in the marina parking lot. Finally, the innkeepers maid, Palaestra, suggests that at midnight, he should try crouching behind the keyhole of the innkeepers wifes bedchamber, where she stores all sorts of magical equipment. Immediately afterwards, Sybil initiates Quarantine Level One (all nonessential personnel to their compartments immediately, which lasts for 7 days). He doesnt know if that means Rex made it or was killed somewhere. Anna understands that it would be feared and mistrusted otherwise. In Vault One, Konstance starts to dismantle her cot. As Himerius and and Anna leave, Anna feels hopeful. This time, she notices that it says Translation by Zeno Ninis. She tells Anna to leave tonight. Shes able to see the expansive Saracen army camp set up outside. Maria, frightened, thinks that she can hear them digging underneath their feet. She tells Anna that theyll want girls to be sold or used, and she knows because it happened to her before. Hes soon in third-grade, which is going smoothly as well. She is so hungry that she ignore her better judgement and goes towards it. Translation by Zeno Ninis.. He gives them both codenames taken from the main characters of Aristophaness The Birds. They cut down the forest nearby. It flings a thousand-pound stone balls across the field. Konstance spends a lot of time inside Atlas. As he enters the palazzo, he recognizes the double-turreted building from the snuffbox. Cloud Cuckoo Land, excerpts. It was first published on September 28, 2021, in the United States by Charles Scribner's Sons and the United Kingdom by Fourth Estate. In the 1400's in Constantinople, Anna is a young orphan girl, and she and her sister Maria work at a convent that serves as an embroidery house run by Master Kalaphates. Around her are scraps of paper, some of which mention a Greek tale by Antonius Diogenes called Cloud Cuckoo Land. Mid-June, Seymour sees that the big dead Ponderosa tree near the clearing Trustyfriends spot has been cut down. He acknowledges the pain he caused, but he also asks about what happened to the translation and play that Zeno had been working on. Zeno sneaks outside and goes walking in the snowy expanse. By now she has been isolated for 276 days. Even before the public could get their hands on it when it was finally released in late September of 2021, Cloud Cuckoo Land had already been longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction . They take a skiff out to the crumbling tower. In this section, Aethon-the-donkey is on the seashore when a goddess with wings descends. [The experiment was about testing whether humans could live in a spacecraft ark and make it to another star system over multiple generations. Next to her, a machine named Sybil gently instructs her to eat, though she declines. At the end of April, Anna looks out to see that the priory on the rock is on fire. Konstance also learns that one of the kids that Zeno saved the day he died was Rachel Wilson, who was her grandmother. Seymour attempts a bombing at the Lakeport Public Librarythe building that neighbors the housing developers responsible for the forests destructionon the same night that Zeno and the children are doing their dress rehearsal. Very interesting - great catch, I didn't notice that. In those places, shes able to reach out and touch the item to reveal a hidden location. Your email address will not be published. In conclusion, the ending of Cloud Cuckoo Land raises philosophical and existential questions about the nature of existence and the search for meaning in a chaotic and unpredictable world. Trees left hind leg seems to be going lame. This escape mirrored Aethons desire to leave the heavens and return to the imperfect Earth, and it was a plot addition devised by a little girl who became Konstances ancestor, bringing the story full circle.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'wroteabook_org-banner-1','ezslot_2',128,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-wroteabook_org-banner-1-0'); At the heart of the ending is the character of Zeno, a young Syrian refugee who embarks on a perilous journey to find hope and solace amidst the chaos and destruction of war-torn Aleppo. Instead, she convinces an old tutor nearby named Licinius to teach her to read Greek, and he gives her a few pages of Greek (from Homer's Odyssey) that he has. He then hides the images into various owls around the Atlas so they are still hidden, but accessible. Throughout the novel, Doerr employs vivid and evocative language to describe the natural world, drawing on his signature talent for capturing the beauty and fragility of the environment. When he finally becomes a bird, he flies high into the cosmos and discovers Cloud Cuckoo Land. However, then he gets a glimpse of golden towers among the clouds (and the rest is illegible due to a water stain). Seymour thinks about all their unpaid bills and how his medicine alone costs $119 a week, but she reassures him itll be okay. and places it in the chamber as well. She also mentions that perhaps itll be a good thing by raising their land value. It is a long journey to Urbino, but he arrives there in the autumn. Seymour hasnt seen Janet since he smashed in the RV and bolted. He tells Omeir they need to get this load delivered or else theyll all be beaten. Seymour watches a cartoon called Starboy, which features a cartoon owl named Trustyfriend. Konstance then starts to see that there are places in the Atlas with depictions of owls that seem more vibrant than their surroundings. Maher, a young oxherd, comments that fear of the thing will be more powerful than the thing itself.. Maria continues to have headaches and is losing her sight due to her head injury. When Zeno is 17, he enlists as Private E-1 Zeno Ninis. That would go against Sybils directive to protect the crew. 9. By late April, trucks show up to start cutting down the forest. one year ago. It is a cylindrical vault with Sybil suspended in a tube in the middle. Just before dawn, she is navigating through a forest when she sees a campfire and smells roasting meat. Zeno thinks about the other worlds hes read about and how theyre out there somewhere. The correspondences in "Cloud Cuckoo Land," between the disasters faced by Doerr's characters and our own anxious age when it can sometimes feel, as his narrator says about the fall of . Around the same time, Omeir reluctantly travels to the capital as instructed, and his oxen haul coal to help build a huge cannon in preparation for war. There are also no roses around for him to eat so he can undo the transformation. "He that knows all that Learning ever writ, knows only this." The correct answer is "nothing." Recall that this section of the original Greek manuscript was too eroded to read. At the reception after the funeral, Pastor White tells Zeno what a hero his father was. The Argos, depicted as an ark to preserve all of lifes knowledge, served as a seed pod waiting for Earth to cycle back to a safe climate. The answer is 592 Earth years. Sybil then announces Quarantine Level Two (All non-medical personnel to their compartments, no exceptions, which lasts for two months). Rex says that the bureau mustve misfiled his letters, since he received three letters at once. It is an epic of the quietest kind, whispering across 600 years in a voice no louder than a librarian's . He invites the former fifth graders from the day at the library back to Lakeport, not knowing if they will accept. However, the kids then carry on the show, having been previously instructed by Zeno to ignore any interruptions and distractions. By the time Zeno is 16, he is apprenticing part-time at a machine shop around the time the Korean War begins. He often sees Trustyfriend there. He talks about aerophonic farming, which requires less water than traditional farming methods. Seymour, a kindred spirit who shares Zenos love for literature, becomes a source of inspiration for Zeno as they embark on a shared mission to protect the precious books in the library from the ravages of war. The next morning they have class virtually in the Library. After seeing the book in her fathers childhood bedroom, Konstance requests information about Cloud Cuckoo Land by Antonius Diogenes from the library. After the phone trigger for the bombs started ringing, Zeno grabbed the the backpack and ran as fast as he could, past the police and towards the lake when the bomb detonates. Anna notices an enameled snuffbox and pockets it when Himerius isnt looking. Zeno asks how theyre detonated, and Seymour truthfully tells him that he can detonate them via either of the two phones that are taped to the bombs, on the fifth ring. He also shows them how they can access the scanned version of the library via the owl drop box in the Atlas. Instead, he offers to tell her more about the story of Aethon. Anna takes the opportunity to run to the city walls. Ask the Author. At some point, Zeno realizes he's gay and feels ashamed about it. Alone in Vault One, Sybil informs Konstance that she is healthy, but she is not permitted to leave. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); On the Argos, all the passengers but Konstance die. Cloud Cuckoo Land, excerpts. We never find out exactly who or what Ilium . It's a big puzzle that satisfies a reader's quest for answers and meaning across time and space, up to and including the final scene. Human life is fleeting but the memories can live on in the pages or texts of a book, as such, worth preserving. She is also introduced to she ship's library, assessible via a virtual reality device (Vizer). Anna is 54 when she passes away, on a lovely day in May surrounded by her sons. He reminds Zeno that he had a knack for translating. The next day, Dr. Pori (who is elderly and had also gotten Zekes vomit on him) dies as well. It is very cold, and each morning they are greeted with speeches with anti-capitalist propaganda. He gives her part of his bird. When she touches an wood owl statue, it reveals itself to be an industrial complex that is enclosed in razor-wire. In November, Seymour sees his imaginary owl guide him towards Paw-Paws old toolshed next to the double-wide. Other salient manifestations of bird symbolism come from Aethon's story. Sure enough, its soon destroyed. Finally, she reaches a gnarled old tree, one that she has visited man times before. She decides to set about making her own library of things she knows that Sybil does not, and she sets about trying to use her synthetic food to make ink. When Rex sees Zeno, he embraces him warmly. Review: 'Cloud Cuckoo Land' weaves history, myth into 'paean to books' In this section, Aethon begins to question why everyone else is content to fly around and eat all day, but he feels some type of restlessness or unhappiness about it. By September, collection agencies are calling Bunny daily. October Book Club Favorites Discussion: CLOUD CUCKOO LAND - YouTube In the goatskin codex, Anna has found a copy of part of Cloud Cuckoo Land by Diogenes. Right before the final assault, Anna flees the city on a rowboat. Anna starts reading to Maria the story of Cloud Cuckoo Land to distract her. They reach the city walls the second week of April. Nine Miles from a Woodcutters Village in the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria / 1453 1494. From the 15 th century to the future, the five protagonists in Anthony Doerr's brilliant Cloud Cuckoo Land come together astonishingly in the stories they make of their lives, rewritten by time and circumstance. Konstance figures out that the scan of earth in the Atlas has papered over certain less palatable images of life on earth. Discover new authors, explore different genres, and join us on a literary journey through book reviews, discussion guides, and author interviews. Soon, they ask to speak to Anna. This chapter opens with an excerpt from Folio of Cloud Cuckoo Land. She realizes she's able to touch them and reveal hidden images, though what she sees is often distressing. At the same time downstairs, a 17-year-old boy named Seymour drops off a bomb in the library. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Outside the city walls, Omeir's oxen both die from overexertion. In this section, Aethon-the-donkey is about to be killed by the bandits for being a useless donkey, but a miller offers to buy him instead. Konstance gets on the Perambulator and puts on the Vizer to talk to her dad in the Library. Zeno tells the kids that Aethon means blazing or burning or hungry in Greek. She finds Himeriuss skiff and rides out in it. There are two attempts to stitch up his cleft palate, but neither attempt is successful. He suggests that she help him to steal some things from there and they can split the proceeds, otherwise hell tell on her. Konstance asks to be let out, and once again Sybil refuses. Unable to leave Compartment 17, Konstance puts on her Vizer and goes to the Library instead. With her hands bound, he leads her by a rope away from the area. He thinks about the story Anna used to recite to them. As Zenos journey reaches its climax, he finds himself in a makeshift library in a besieged city, where he meets another character, Seymour, who is also seeking refuge and solace in books. She continues her way up the coast on foot until she comes across a bird roasting on a fire in the forest. In Mission Year 65 (in the future), Konstance is a young girl on the ship Argos, which left Earth 65 years ago on a mission to get to planet Beta Oph2. Based on this, we know that the kids are doing some type of performance of the story Cloud Cuckoo Land by Antonius Diogenes, which was referenced in the prologue. There are parts that are vibrant and exciting, but others that are darker, dealing with cities being burnt and enslavement and so forth. She dashes over and takes the roasted bird. He thinks about what would appeal to these kids and capture their attention, and he starts again to write. He sees that it was replaced by a hotel with a rooftop bar. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Meanwhile, Sharif lets Seymour know that he needs medical attention. By the time she gets out of the Atlas and off the Perambulator, she is exhausted and hungry. When the mold is done and a molten alloy is poured in, then the men break the mold and the animals are tasked with dragging the Destroyer of Cities out of the pit and towards the Sultans testing grounds. Surely they would have kept an eye on it? At the convent, the women discuss how the Italian republic could save them if they wanted, but they only care about trade and they have contracts with the sultan. Without the story, all was chaos and death. However, she finds that it is empty. Inside the archers turret, surrounded by rubble, is a fresco painted on the southern wall (perhaps painted by a bored or lonely bowman). Finally, the great wizard agrees to transform him (in exchange for him pointing out where all the big fish are living), and Aethon is tossed into the air. I don't think this was because the world was uninhabitable, but because it was clearly heading that way in the long term (based on what the owls reveal in the atlas) and humankind needed to do the long term research to be able to evacuate at some point in the future. The preface notes that some scholars argue that this (severely degraded) section belongs earlier in the story. With each assignment, he gets more skeptical of what hes being taught in school and questions the extent to which were failing to understand the impact that human actions have on the environment. Flowers explains that this data isnt being updated, instead the Atlass version of Earth is based on imaging done before the Argos departed. She has Konstance practice using the librarys resources by asking her to figure out how long the journey to Beta Oph2 will take. Back upstairs, Zeno tries to make sense of what he saw downstairs. Determined to find it, he heads for Thessaly, a land of Magic. Its been patched over, but she uses her axe to attack the metal. When the bombs are remotely detonated, Zeno carries them outside to save everyone, dying in the process. At home, Bunny tells Seymour that the motel she works for is shutting down, so shes being let go. As he remembers Zeno, he feels dizzy (something has gone wrong inside him), falls off his treadmill and breaks his wrist. In 2018, Seymour has grown into an ardent student environmentalist. This marvelous book is like an astrolabe or an armillary sphere; a navigation instrument engineered to discover the world. She sees a video of him as a 12-year-old boy explaining why he should be allowed on the Argos mission. Sybil still doesnt know what happened to Ezekiel. The siege has now gone on for five or six weeks. Judges Citation. Years pass. The novels intricate narrative comes to a stunning conclusion that leaves readers captivated and pondering the books themes long after the final page. Meanwhile, Seymour grew up living in a motel with his mother Bunny. Beautiful towers and imaginative clusters of birds and clouds decorate the stage. She looks it up to see that Scheria is a mythical island of plenty from Homers Odyssey. 100 Share 13K views Streamed 1 year ago Book Club Favorites' October discussion is joined by Pulitzer Prize- winning author Anthony Doerr to discuss his newest novel CLOUD CUCKOO LAND. Cloud Cuckoo Land, the latest novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anthony Doerr, is a beautifully woven tapestry of interconnected stories that span across time and space, interweaving the lives of different characters through the ages. The children learn about his translations and work with Zeno to produce a play of Cloud Cuckoo Land. The novel centers around an Ancient Greek codex that links characters from fifteenth-century Constantinople, present-day Idaho, and a twenty . This chapter opens with an excerpt from Folio O of Cloud Cuckoo Land. In 2057, Seymour is 58 and is now on work-release. Seymour leads a meeting of the schools Enviro-Awareness Club where eight kids show up. Ridiculed his entire life for his physical deformity, Omeir finds friends in animals instead. A housekeeper shoos Anna away, but the old man, Licinius, comes outside the gate to talk to her. There are people starving and garbage everywhere. Still, it is a book that . Twelve-year-old Anna, an orphan, lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople in a house of women who make their living embroidering the robes of priests. An iconoclastic, mixed-genre world where there are no rules or unhappy things and serves as a hidden base for the rebel protagonists and councils of Master Builder. The counselor Miss Slattery is happy with him too. Anthony Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land Is a Book of Wonders While the story of Ulysses spans 24 books, Licinius was only able to flee with a half-dozen pages of the text. Zeno hits a creative roadblock, but at the library he starts telling the story to a group of fifth graders and it reinvigorates his translation work. Master Kalaphatess mood is tense. Littered around the room, Seymore sees items like a kids parka and snow boots. One day, they talk about how Aethon feel unsatisfied even after reaching Cloud Cuckoo Land. A man gets out of the RV to walk his poodle. What does Cloud Cuckoo Land represent for each of them? Zeno names her Athena and he takes her with him to the library each day after school. By the time Zeno gets back home, hes just shy of 20 years old. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. At night (referred to as NoLight), Konstance gets night terrors when she sleeps. Zeno longs to be with Rex after the war, but when they meet in 1971, Zeno is too scared to confess his feelings. He also wonders if hes really willing to die for this cause (to give voice to the innumerable creatures that humans have wiped off the earth). He later learns that Rex had a heart attack and died. They end up living a happy life together, both enjoying Annas copy of Aethons story. He then reassembles it, though hes unsure of the correct order. A middle-aged Zeno translates it, and adapts it into a children's play. That night, Widow Theodora tells them a story about lime-burner who lost his sight. Their bond, forged through their mutual love for literature, becomes a powerful symbol of hope and resilience, highlighting the ability of literature to bring people together and foster connections that transcend borders and boundaries. Doerr is an American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his novel All the Light We Cannot See, and recipient of numerous other literary awards. Seymour is enraged to find the dismembered wing of a great grey owl on the roadside. I believe the Argos is in the future as Rachel's grandchild. Zeno is crouched with the children along a L-shaped barrier. Konstances mother frets that Konstance is going against their mandate to look forward instead of back. It tells of a shepherd, Aethon, known by. The book then states that before [Anna] turns fourteen, every person she knows will be either enslaved or dead.. Cloud Cuckoo Land, excerpts. The next day, in the toolshed, Seymour soon finds a pistol, ammunition and a crate containing 25 M67 hand grenades. She reads about how Aethon-the-shepherd becomes a donkey and a fish and gets eaten. After Anna dies, Omeir deposits Anna's damaged-but-treasured book (Cloud Cuckoo Land) in the library of the ducal palace in Urbino. It describes how some old manuscripts, notably a goatskin codex, had long been considered illegible (its pages fused into a solid mass due to to water damage, mold, and age) but new scanning technologies have allowed them to extract the text. Cloud Cuckoo Land Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary In the middle of the night, he thinks about his mother saying come back to us and his own mind telling him to just go home. Then, he goes home and sets up the smart speaker for Bunny to use. Anna reads a little for them, which seems to excite them. As they near Constantinople, the weather is stormy, the men and animals are weary and tensions run high. cloud cuckoo land ending explained. Before she leaves, Licinius gives her three quires (collection of papers). Carefully, he separates out the leaves and lets them dry. These manuscripts had been storied for centuries at the ducal library in Urbino and then had been moved to the Vatican library. It seems that by the time the Argos mission was being set up, things had gotten truly dire in many places on earth. The library fills with kids with nothing else to do.