Cloud Cuckoo Land - maximalist fiction, minimalist review

Doerr's first novel since winning the Pulitzer would work best, in this reader's opinion, with people who don't read as much literary fiction as most of us do.

If you read 10 books a year, this would be a great contender. If you read 100, there there is so much stuffed into this novel that feels like padding and will keep you from getting to the next book.

Doerr has intricately plotted this work across several timelines and characters. I imagine one day some university archive will be thrilled to received his flow chart... but I was left a little underwhelmed by the mechanics of the whole and the determination to give everyone some kind of resolution all in service of a fairly naff message about eco-consciousness.

Enjoyable enough, but forgettable and too long to get me excited about anything else he may put out.