Anthony Doerr had to spin quite the web when he wrote this novel. I believe he had to have plotted this carefully, since each strand of plot had to arrive at certain points in a coordinated manner. The three main plot threads include 1. the siege on Constantinople in the fifteenth century, 2. present-day Lakeport, Idaho, and 3. a bit into the future onboard the interstellar ship Argos. The story that unifies the three threads is a tale, Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Antonius Diogenes, the ancient tale of a shepherd who yearns for adventure, and travels around the world and beyond in the guise of various animals. The codex containing the story is found by a young girl, who escapes the siege with her prize and her life, to be rescued and aided by a boy from the invader’s side of the conflict. The story has great significance for their live and is ultimately given to a library where it will be preserved.

In the Lakeport Public Library, a Korean War veteran finds translating the story from ancient Greek to English, to be made into a play for children is a project that brings meaning and closure to his life and lost love. A young girl in the Argos spaceship finds the story to provide a clue that upends and literally saves her life. There are several other unifying characters and events, but I don’t wish to spoil the delights of discovery you will experience. Doerr has written an epic ode to libraries and the librarians who preserve our culture, and work to share it and the works it inspires. He is showing the many shades of value that story has in our lives, ways it touches us, even saves us.

A long and complex journey, but one well worth taking. Unlike most of what you read, for sure. Highly recommended.