"Cloud Cuckoo Land" by Anthony Doerr by

"Cloud Cuckoo Land" by Anthony Doerr by https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023 USO OVBC - Feel free to use this space before/during/after our virtual meeting. Add your responses. Create your own posts (favorite quotes, book themes, additional topics, links, questions, etc.). en-us 2023-04-16 06:21:24 UTC 2026-01-20 01:02:40 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/2601.png Cloud Cuckoo Land cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556834189 Anthony Doerr: Author Website]]> 2023-04-17 11:55:58 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556834189 Anthony Doerr: Bio cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556839163 Author Bio]]> 2023-04-17 12:00:01 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556839163 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556839445 2023-04-17 12:00:17 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556839445 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556839980 Instagram]]> 2023-04-17 12:00:46 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556839980 Q&A with Anthony Doerr on "Cloud Cuckoo Land" cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556842750 2023-04-17 12:03:09 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556842750 Author's Inspiration for CLOUD CUCKOO LAND cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556853886 2023-04-17 12:11:47 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556853886 Novelist Anthony Doerr on "Cloud Cuckoo Land" cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556968054 2023-04-17 13:25:47 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556968054 Novelist Anthony Doerr on "Cloud Cuckoo Land" cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556990835 2023-04-17 13:38:44 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2556990835 #USOOVBC kcjeanwilliams https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2560693351 USO Indo-Pacific and USO EMEA will host our monthly Overseas Virtual Book Club! discussing "Cloud Cuckoo Land," by Anthony Doerr on May 11th at 2000 JST on Zoom. Stay up to date with the Overseas Virtual Book Club by joining our Facebook Group: https://fal.cn/3xr76

Register here: https://fal.cn/3xr74

#usoreading #bookclub]]> 2023-04-19 20:22:38 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2560693351 USO OVBC - Intros cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2564269522 Since we're spread out across the world, please share your location (without sharing your exact address) on the padlet map! Feel free to share a quick bio in the thread below, or directly on the map (see link below). -- What's your name? How do you identify (pronouns)? Where do you live? -- On the padlet, click on the bottom right pink + sign to add a location.

USO OVBC: Intros]]> 2023-04-22 15:43:27 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2564269522 Current Reads cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2564269638 What are you reading?]]> 2023-04-22 15:43:45 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2564269638 Book Recs cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2564269676 Any book recs to share with us?]]> 2023-04-22 15:43:52 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2564269676 Discussion Questions (DQ) 1 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583491811 What was your first impression of the book?]]> 2023-05-09 09:02:30 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583491811 DQ 2 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583492196 Which storyline appealed to you the most? Which one did the least?

]]> 2023-05-09 09:02:53 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583492196 DQ 3 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583492673 Which character in the book did you like the most? Why?

]]> 2023-05-09 09:03:18 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583492673 DQ 4 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583494110 What did you think of the way Doerr structures his narrative? Did you like the way the story is told? What about its pace?]]> 2023-05-09 09:04:29 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583494110 DQ 5 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583494492 What do you think of the journey that the Cloud Cuckoo Land book takes (from being found in the priory all the way into the future)? Why do you think Doerr has chosen to tell this story, and did you find it meaningful?]]> 2023-05-09 09:04:46 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583494492 DQ 6 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583495186 The author Anthony Doerr talked about how he wanted to explore the concept of people hoping for a perfect utopia. He wrote, ‘what is it about seemingly every human generation in seemingly every culture that we tell stories about traveling to better, prettier, more equitable places in far-off lands?’ Why do you think that is? Is it human nature to think another land/country/world would be better than our own?]]> 2023-05-09 09:05:21 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583495186 DQ 7 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583495789 Libraries play a central role throughout the novel, both as sanctuaries for children and as stewards of knowledge. Compare the library in Lakeport and the one aboard the Argos. How does the virtual library of Konstance’s time differ from the library in modern-day Idaho? In what ways are they similar? ]]> 2023-05-09 09:05:50 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583495789 DQ 8 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583496206 Consider the many examples of nostos, or “homecoming,” in the novel:

- Konstance breaks free from the Argos and embarks on a life on Earth;

- Zeno returns home after the war to his quiet life in Lakeport;

- Omeir, too, returns home from war, to his beloved village in the Bulgarian hills;

- Seymour finds himself drawn to the virtual version of the hometown he left behind;

- Anna, always so restless, finds a peaceful life of love and intellectual freedom with Omeir.

Which story did you connect with the most, and why? In your opinion, what does the novel have to say about the value of “home”?

What did you think of the ending of the book? Would you have changed anything? What questions remain unanswered for you?

]]> 2023-05-09 09:06:14 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583496206 DQ 9 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583496569 Konstance’s narrative book ends the novel. Why do you think the author chose to start and finish CLOUD CUCKOO LAND with her story?]]> 2023-05-09 09:06:32 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583496569 DQ 10 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583496850 What are some of the key takeaways of the story for you?]]> 2023-05-09 09:06:48 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583496850 DQ 11 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583497182 What are the type of stories that endure throughout generations?]]> 2023-05-09 09:07:09 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583497182 DQ 12 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583497584 What does ‘cloud cuckoo land’ mean for each of the main characters? What does it mean for you?]]> 2023-05-09 09:07:27 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583497584 DQ 13 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583497844 The story takes us from the fifteenth century to the present day—why do you think the author chose those time periods to tell this story?]]> 2023-05-09 09:07:44 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583497844 DQ 14 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583498311 How were each of these characters loosely connected? Did you feel this thread of connection paid off in the end?]]> 2023-05-09 09:08:02 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583498311 Book Character: Anna - Discussion Question 1 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583499779 What do you think of Anna? Why is she so important to the story?

]]> 2023-05-09 09:09:20 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583499779 Anna - DQ 2 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583500262 Would you like to be more like Anna? Why? Why not?]]> 2023-05-09 09:09:38 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583500262 Anna - DQ 3 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583500720 How did Anna’s quest for curiosity and learning change the course of her life for good? What did you think about the relationship between Anna and Omeir?]]> 2023-05-09 09:09:58 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583500720 Anna - DQ 4 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583501374 Early in the novel, Anna is enchanted by an ancient fresco in an archer’s turret; each time she looks at it, “something stirs inside her, some inarticulable sense of the pull of distant places, of the immensity of the world and her own smallness inside it” (page 36). How does Anna’s response to the image of Cloud Cuckoo Land compare to Aethon’s when he envisions a city in the clouds in Folio β? ]]> 2023-05-09 09:10:30 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583501374 Book Character: Omeir - Discussion Question 1 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583502113 What was your impression of Omeir? How would you describe him?]]> 2023-05-09 09:11:08 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583502113 Omeir - DQ 2 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583502653 On page 534, Omeir thinks to himself, “All my life...my best companions cannot speak the same language as me.” What does he mean? What role does Omeir’s empathy for all creatures, regardless of their ability to communicate verbally, play in the story?]]> 2023-05-09 09:11:34 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583502653 Book Character: Konstance - Discussion Question 1 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583503764 What are your initial thoughts on Konstance and her situation? Does your impression of her change throughout the book? ]]> 2023-05-09 09:12:34 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583503764 Konstance - DQ 2 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583504523 Consider Sybil, the omnipresent, teacherly AI system aboard the Argos, to whom we are introduced in the prologue. Sybil’s core objective is to keep the crew safe. As the novel progresses, Sybil’s objective remains the same, but her role in Konstance’s story grows more and more complicated. How does your opinion of Sybil change as the novel progresses? In your opinion, is she a sinister character, a benevolent one, or neither?]]> 2023-05-09 09:13:10 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583504523 Konstance - DQ 3 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583505089 Throughout the novel, Konstance wonders what drove her father to join the crew of the Argos. Name a few plausible motivations. If you were in his position, would you be willing to accept a spot on the Argos and leave the Earth forever? Why, or why not?]]> 2023-05-09 09:13:34 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583505089 Konstance - DQ 4 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583505438 Konstance is led to believe that she’s on a ship far away from the dying Earth. But she’s also curious and eventually learns that the ship never left Earth. What are your thoughts about this reveal?]]> 2023-05-09 09:13:53 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583505438 Book Character: Zeno - Discussion Question 1 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583521227 How would you describe the personality of Zeno as a boy? ]]> 2023-05-09 09:26:15 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583521227 Zeno - DQ 2 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583521655 How does his sexuality affect him, and why do you think Zeno enlists in the military?]]> 2023-05-09 09:26:36 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583521655 Zeno - DQ 3 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583522116 Why do you think Zeno is unable to go with Rex’s escape plan? ]]> 2023-05-09 09:26:58 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583522116 Zeno - DQ 4 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583522452 Zeno is homosexual in a time where he didn’t feel he could be free. How did his love for Rex impact his life moving forward? How would have things been different if Zeno had told Rex how he truly felt? ]]> 2023-05-09 09:27:15 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583522452 Zeno - DQ 5 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583523017 How did all his life experience lead him to saving the children’s lives?]]> 2023-05-09 09:27:38 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583523017 Book Character: Seymour - Discussion Question 1 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583524201 What are your initial thoughts on Seymour when we meet him in the book?

]]> 2023-05-09 09:28:39 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583524201 Seymour - DQ 2 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583524829 How does your perception of him change as you learn about him as a child? ]]> 2023-05-09 09:29:09 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583524829 Seymour - DQ 3 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583525408 Seymour was complicated and appears to have an undiagnosed mental illness. Could things have been different if he had more help and support growing up?]]> 2023-05-09 09:29:33 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583525408 Seymour - DQ 4 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583525824 After the death of Trustyfriend, Seymour falls into deeper and deeper mourning for his beloved forests and their inhabitants. As a teenager, he becomes enraptured with a militant environmental justice group, led by a mysterious figurehead known only as “Bishop.” In what ways does Seymour’s ideology initially match that of Bishop’s group? How does Seymour’s ideology in his adolescence compare to his thinking later in life? In your opinion, what accounts for the change?]]> 2023-05-09 09:29:55 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583525824 Seymour - DQ 5 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583526187 Ilium employs Seymour to help overwrite “potentially undesirable items inside the raw image sets” (page 562). Over the years, Seymour begins to rebel, hiding bits of code in Ilium’s system that, if touched, reveal the gritty reality beneath the corporation’s glossy alterations. Why does Seymour decide to stop cooperating with Ilium? ]]> 2023-05-09 09:30:16 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583526187 Seymour - DQ 6 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583526570 Do you agree with Seymour in that it is important to remember the past in its entirety, sadness, ugliness, and all? Why or why not?]]> 2023-05-09 09:30:34 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583526570 Cloud Cuckoo Land - DQ 1 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583528498 What did you think of the story of Aethon in Diogenes’s Cloud Cuckoo Land?

]]> 2023-05-09 09:31:20 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583528498 Cloud Cuckoo Land - DQ 2 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583528976 Are there other stories it reminds you of? What about the story appeals to you or doesn’t appeal to you?

]]> 2023-05-09 09:31:44 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583528976 Cloud Cuckoo Land - DQ 3 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583529379 What did you think of the way the Doerr incorporates the Cloud Cuckoo Land story into the book? How did this add or detract from the narrative for you?]]> 2023-05-09 09:32:05 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583529379 Cloud Cuckoo Land - DQ 4 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583529760 To gain entry to Cloud Cuckoo Land, Aethon must correctly answer a riddle. “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. Why do you think Zeno chose to complete the riddle in this way?]]> 2023-05-09 09:32:24 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583529760 Cloud Cuckoo Land - DQ 5 cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583531411 In what ways can the characters (like Anna, Omeir, Zeno, etc.) relate to Aethon’s story? How are their own journeys mirrored by the one told in Cloud Cuckoo Land?]]> 2023-05-09 09:33:43 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2583531411 Character Descriptions cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2585539938 2023-05-10 13:47:49 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2585539938 Book Summary cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2585541916 2023-05-10 13:49:02 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2585541916 Discussion Questions cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2585543925 2023-05-10 13:50:19 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2585543925 DQs (cont.) cev4uso https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2585545555 2023-05-10 13:51:20 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2585545555 Did you know that there is a Spanish version of this book? https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2587068760 Is anyone else reading "Cloud Cuckoo Land" in a different language?]]> 2023-05-11 11:47:14 UTC https://padlet.com/cev4uso/USOOVBC_May2023/wish/2587068760