The novels intricate narrative comes to a stunning conclusion that leaves readers captivated and pondering the books themes long after the final page. They eventually make camp underneath a stone overhang. His task is made more difficult because he doesnt know Rexs unit or commanding officer. From 1972 - 1995, Zeno returns to Lakeport, works on his Greek and takes care of Mrs. Boydstun (who has Huntington's). He finds comfort in the forest outside their home, especially with his beloved Trustyfriend. After Konstance cleans herself up and does her lessons, she starts to wonder about the construction of the Argos. In this section, after Aethon watches the witch/owl fly out of the window, he rushes into her room. The preface explains how Aethons journey to find Cloud Cuckoo Land takes him through the folklore worlds of virtually every culture. The ending of the novel brings this storyline to a crescendo, as the characters are forced to confront the dire consequences of their actions and make decisions that will shape the fate of their world. Surely they would have kept an eye on it? Certainly the technology of The Atlas & The Perambulator were introduced at this meeting. Omeirs two eldest sisters die over the next few years, and only the third, Nida, survives. That same afternoon, Tree and Moonlight are part of the ox train hauling cannonballs when Moonlight stops walking, lowers himself down and dies. At night (referred to as NoLight), Konstance gets night terrors when she sleeps. He later learns that Rex had a heart attack and died. At 637 pages, Cloud Cuckoo Land is engaging, thoughtfully written, easily read, and yet ambitious. In this section, Aethon-the-donkey is on the seashore when a goddess with wings descends. He reminds Zeno that he had a knack for translating. Translation by Zeno Ninis.. A man gets out of the RV to walk his poodle. She sneakily learns to read and later risks her life to steal books from an abandoned priory. Meanwhile, the kids talk about how Quarantine Level 3, if initiated, would last for one year. He then gets back to work learning to translate Greek. Moonlight and Tree continue to be put to work without any time to rest, like the rest of the animals. (Later the the chapter, Zeno has a flashback of an image of a man in a prison camp as he scratches Greek characters into the dust.). He stops taking his pills. Back upstairs, Zeno tries to make sense of what he saw downstairs. In the Library, Konstance scours the schematics for Argos. This chapter opens with an excerpt from Folio A of Cloud Cuckoo Land. Seymore dreams of himself walking on a tree-lined trail towards a cluster of white tents, but the trail changes and lengthens each time he steps forward. By the time Zeno gets back home, hes just shy of 20 years old. Aethon is told he sounds an awful lot like a human right now, but they suggest that Aethon read a book that they have that contains all the knowledge of the gods. As Seymour waits for the Bishop to respond, he wonders if the message was received and what the Bishop will do. Seymour thinks worriedly about the serene times he spent in the clearing in the forest, with Trustyfriend there with him. When Konstance is 6, her teacher Mrs. Chen brings Konstance and her classmates, Ramn and Jessi Ko, to see Sybil in person in Vault One. It also notes that this translation is by Zeno Ninis. Today, the Hodegetria, a painting of the Virgin and Child that is the citys most venerated icon, is carried out of the church that houses it and is carried up to the Third Hill. He also shows them how they can access the scanned version of the library via the owl drop box in the Atlas. In the weeks since she discovered the old Lakeport library hidden in the Atlas, Konstance has been able to copy three-quarters of Zenos Cloud Cuckoo Land translation onto scraps of sackcloth (from the food powder bags). For the next year, Zeno continues to correspond with Rex, but strictly about matters pertaining to translation. He talks about how more carbon in the air means bigger fires, bigger storms and worse floods. As the preface explains, only a few fragments of words are legible. The ending of the Cloud Cuckoo Land reveals that the Argos was a seed pod waiting for Earth to cycle back to a safe climate. Anna continues to read to Maria. He thinks about how this time tomorrow hell be at the Bishops camp with Mathilda, living with purpose and meaning. Then, a flock of birds comes through and one gets caught in his snare. Instead, Rex does it by himself. With some difficulty, she manages to get out past the breakwater and out into the dark sea. She puts a hand out and feels that it is raining. He also burns the pages. Chryse cuts off Annas hair to try to make her less attractive to them, but she thinks that Anna could possibly evade them, so she tells Anna to try to run. Aethons tale, originally told to his dying niece, was a way to evade death and slip the trap of mortality. A few years later, in Mission Year 64, one of Konstance's classmates falls ill and dies from an unknown illness. He reluctantly agrees, though he warns he that shell never learn it. It requires going through a decontamination chamber to enter, and it has a separate thermal, mechanical and filtration system from the rest of the ship. And as always, I wish you happy reading! As he remembers Zeno, he feels dizzy (something has gone wrong inside him), falls off his treadmill and breaks his wrist. Anna ends up stealing old manuscripts from an abandoned priory to sell to foreigners who are interested in antique manuscripts. Zeno manages to translate one book of the Iliad, two books of the Odyssey and part of Platos Republic. The ending of the Cloud Cuckoo Land reveals that the Argos was a seed pod waiting for Earth to cycle back to a safe climate. She worries that Konstance spends too much time exploring the Atlas in the library and that shell end up like Crazy Elliot Fischenbacher, who ended up exploring the Atlas continuously day and night until he went crazy. Discover new authors, explore different genres, and join us on a literary journey through book reviews, discussion guides, and author interviews. One of the sophomore girls who attended the meeting, Janet, offers Seymour a ride home. The least-equipped and least-trained men (such as Omeir) are being sent in first to soften the citys defenses. Now, hes downloading an anonymous browser and secure messaging platform to reach out to the Bishop and his organization. Cloud Cuckoo Land, excerpts. He spends a lot of time with Rex, who teaches him Greek. Moreover, Zeno thinks that he should have taken more risks in general in life. document.getElementById( "ak_js_8" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); In this analysis, we will delve into the narrative decisions crafted by Anthony Doerr, the author of the novel, as he brings the story to its conclusion, and we will explore how these choices shape readers perceptions of the characters and their ultimate fates. He is also in contact with Natalie Hernandez, who is now teaching high school Latin and Greek. As Zeno leave, he is filled with regrets. Also, Im sure I read another book not that long ago with the same plot twist. When they get to Seymours place, an old man waves to them. Zeno is crouched with the children along a L-shaped barrier. At night, Zeno revisits the Greek that Rex once taught him, but its a struggle. In December, they go to a thrift store to look for pieces for costumes. I agree. The kids then take a break from rehearsal. Eventually, an interpreter comes, and Omeir show him the book, saying that I have heard that this is a place that protects books. Zenos Papa dies in the war. That is an extremely helpful interpretation. A Woodcutters Village in the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria / Those Same Years. Seymour thinks about all their unpaid bills and how his medicine alone costs $119 a week, but she reassures him itll be okay. The Greek tale was likely. He was killing trying to protect children at the library from a terrorist. He talks about how after Aethon-the-donkey made his escape, he went searching for a rose. In Chapter 21, in present day, Zeno and the children quietly do a read-through of the script upstairs. As the oxygen disappears from the room, Konstance reasons with Sybil unless Sybil opens the door to Vault, then Konstance will die from lack of oxygen. Suggesting something else happened. Still, Konstance isnt entire sure what the point is of her task and whether anyone will ever find her or her transcription in the Vault. She later learns that Licinius was once a tutor to a wealthy family, but had to flee when the Saracens captured his town. In this section, the goddess asks Aethon about his desire to return home. However, upon inspection, she sees that this parchment is cheap and likely of little value. In the 1400's in Constantinople, Anna is an orphan who finds a copy of Cloud Cuckoo Land in an abandoned priory library just before it is destroyed by Saracen forces. Then, he starts to travel, asking some people if they recognize the image on the snuffbox. Anna and Omeir arrive at Omeirs home. Throughout the narrative, the contents of Cloud Cuckoo Land is interwoven in bits and pieces. It was said to be a 24-part text that told a big globetrotting tale, full of interlocking subnarratives that borrowed from sources both scholarly and fanciful, mashed up existing genres, played around with fictionality, and may have included the first literary voyage to outer space. Diogenes had claimed that the story behind The Wonders was originally discovered engraved on wood tablets in the catacombs of Tyre. As the days pass, Omeir notices how much more dejected Tree and Moonlight seem with each passing day. Theres also a preface that notes that the story consists of 24 folios, the exact order of which is debated by scholars. In the courtyard of the palace, he tells tells the guard that he has come with a gift for the learned men of this place. In Mumbai, a picturesque trail disappears when she touches a painted owl. In retirement, Zeno feels his life is unfulfilling until he meets five children at the Lakeport Public Library who change his life. The greatest joy in it comes from watching the pieces snap into place. Instead, the solution that appears here is added by the translator. The second day, however, he gets caught in a frightful storm. Instead, it becomes a place with dirty water and trash. Meanwhile, Anna reads the story of Ulysses by candlelight at night. He hurriedly tries to repeat her ritual (of undressing and rubbing himself with an ointment, etc.). Downstairs, Seymour waits. I loved the book and would love to learn more. Each night, he disables the connectivity on his terminal and gets to work on harvesting the objectionable images that have been removed from view on the Atlas. Without the story, all was chaos and death. In 1452, Anna is now 12. Konstance has the Atlas take her to Nannup and she scours Backline Road for a farm like the one she saw in her fathers video. He watches as Marian exits the library at 4:51 PM. Meanwhile, Sharif lets Seymour know that he needs medical attention. They pay for the animal manuscript, and they offer more money if she brings them additional manuscripts. However, then he gets a glimpse of golden towers among the clouds (and the rest is illegible due to a water stain). The crone tells Aethon that itll never happen. Anna tries to reassure her, but the thought of it scares her, too. In 1952, Zeno is still in Korea spending as much time as he can with Rex. Zeno tells the kids that Aethon means blazing or burning or hungry in Greek. This allows him to behave better so he doesnt get overwhelmed and flip out. They recommend an occupational therapist, and Seymour gets suspended for a day. I was thinking about why Argos existed in the first place, and I think it could have been a really well-intentioned Hail Mary at preserving our culture and possibly humanity itself.. Its an ark with enough people, seeds, and knowledge to kickstart human life on another planet, and I think the intended planet was Earth after a century or two of the collapse of civilization. He considers that if he travels with her, maybe it will attract less suspicion since she will seem like a prize he has won. She knows that the crew was told that they were sedated and sealed inside for launch, but now Konstance knows there never was a launch. As Rex talks about rediscovering ancient lost texts, Zeno daydreams about Rex and Hillary getting into a fight and Hillary leaving. In the Prologue and Chapters 1 - 2, the book introduces an array of characters from different time periods. Seymour is a neurodivergent child who befriends a great grey owl he names Trustyfriend. He ends up sitting on the forest floor, and everything feels quiet finally. When she asks about his mother, Zeno runs off. 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. The novel centers around an Ancient Greek codex that links characters from fifteenth-century Constantinople, present-day Idaho, and a twenty . Anna thinks that perhaps she needs to drink more holy water. Anna knows she should say something but is too scared to do so. [Can someone explain the ending w/r/t Konstance and the spacecraft? Continue with Recommended Cookies. One of them reads to him from Homers The Odyssey, and he listens in rapt attention. Still a donkey, Aethon is driven north. In the Atlas, she ends up in Qaanaaq, Greenland, though theres no sign of a base. Over time, Anna stops noticing Omeirs cleft lip. When he's 6, they move into a double-wide that Bunny inherits, located on plot of land next to a forest. Even though it should just dissolve into pixels like everything else in the Atlas, she feels something real and solid there. The novel is essentially about the power of books as they can impact individuals across several time periods. Seymour hasnt seen Janet since he smashed in the RV and bolted. Cloud Cuckoo Land, the new, 622-page epic tale from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anthony Doerr, is a book filled to the brim with a lot of big and powerful themes climate crisis, war,. Instead, he offers to tell her more about the story of Aethon. However, the grandfathers experience of knowing someone with a cleft palate helps him to humanize the boy. Hes woken by Hillary just before his flight. He thinks about what would appeal to these kids and capture their attention, and he starts again to write. He suggests that she help him to steal some things from there and they can split the proceeds, otherwise hell tell on her. He learns that there are roughly 11,100 great grey owls in America. One day, Anna returns to her cell to find Kalaphates violently confronting Maria after having found the pages that Licinius gave to Anna. Carefully, he separates out the leaves and lets them dry. Rex would be Peisetarios (translated as Trustyfriend) and Zeno would be Euelpides (translated as Goodhope). Shes with her mother in Compartment 17, their family compartment. When he tries to reach for her sack, she screams. 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. See more. In May, Zeno arrives in Heathrow airport to be greeted by Hillary, who turns out to be a large six-foot-tall man wearing a sequined shirt. She returns to her fathers childhood home in the Atlas and takes another look at the book. In the ending, this imagery takes on added significance as the characters grapple with the repercussions of their choices and the devastating impact of human actions on the planet. Sybil suggests that she do her writing in the library where she doesnt need to make ink and whatnot, but Konstance declines. There, she sees that the owl drop box still stands, though the library is no longer there. In the Epilogue, the story flashes back to the day at the library on February 20, 2020. A waterspout sends him up high into the skies, propelling him past the moon and into the stars. Zeno is an anxious child who struggles with his fathers death. Back in the boat, Himerius is unhappy with what shes brought back, which appear to mostly be old recrod-keeping registers filled with tallymarks. Follow along on Goodreads, or keep in touch via the newsletter. Soon, they are ravenously hungry, and Omeir is starting to feel weak. Neat trick if you can do that in 9 years. In 2021, Seymour is now in a medium security prison where he spends his time on the computer learning to code. She then exits the Argos, dropping into darkness. Someone with the screen name of Mathilda in the Bishops ranks is assigned to correspond with Seymour. This chapter opens with an excerpt from Folio N of Cloud Cuckoo Land. Meanwhile, Omeir is a boy who is forced to join the Saracen army. She thinks about whats outside and remembers her mother saying that certain viruses can persist for months on surfaces. 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. Zeno's father died in WWII when he was young. At school, the kids learn about Sybil, a machine that performs a wide range of tasks and contains the collective wisdom of the human species. They continue to travel together, and he no longer binds her wrists. In the fall, Omeirs sister Nida gets married to a woodcutter in a village 20 miles away. Seymour thinks about how he just wanted to damage the Edens Gate offices and now things have gotten out of control. On the stage, theres an epitaph written on tombstone next to a Styrofoam sarcophagus prop that reads Aethon: Lived 80 Years a Man, 1 Year a Donkey, 1 Year a Sea Bass, 1 Year a Crow. As Rex drops Zeno off at the airport, Rex gifts him with a Greek-to-English dictionary. In these parts, it describes how Aethon drunkenly watches a performance of Aristophanes' play The Birds and ends up believing that Cloud Cuckoo Land is a real place in the clouds. As the other kids go to play a game, Konstance decides to visit Thessaly in the Atlas. On May 27, Maria dies. When Zeno was seven, he and his Papa moved from Northern California to a small cabin a mile away from Lakeport, Idaho since Papa had been hired install a saw for a lumber company. Zeno continues trying to find out where Rex is. That night, Widow Theodora tells them a story about lime-burner who lost his sight. He says that the foreigners in the city will pay a lot for these antiquities. I believe everyone else in the pod died. Patti takes the opportunity to jokingly poke him with her fish sticks, and finally Seymour is overwhelmed and flips out with a rage (that has chewed at the edges of every waking minute since he found Trustyfriends wing). This chapter opens with an excerpt from Folio of Cloud Cuckoo Land. Furthermore, we will carefully examine the skilled use of literary devices and symbolism in the ending, and how they contribute to the deeper meaning and significance of the novel. cloud cuckoo land ending explained. 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. However, like the character Aethon who got drunk during a play and was led to believe Cloud Cuckoo Land was real, Anna (at this point) doesnt know yet that it is a work of fiction and that the places and things described are fictional. The theme of seeds and their magic was prominent in Konstances relationship with her father, and it was the only thing she insisted on rescuing from the ship during her escape at the end. Before they part, Rex reminds Zeno that he has a knack for translating and to keep working at his Greek. Eventually, Mrs. Boydstun passes away as well. In this section, Aethon has arrived in Thessaly, and he looks for a witch who can transform him into a bird. Seymour sees the clouds and trees decorating the stage. Sybil refuses to let her out for her own safety. In May 1971, Zeno makes the trip to London. The plot follows five main characters through three timelines. 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. By now, there are 33 units built on the Edens Gate property. As Seymour does the job, he finds hes good at it, and his supervisors give him glowing reports. When he gets old, Luther passes away, and Zeno adopts another dog, which he names Nestor the king of Pylos. He finds her book, and he wonders if it is a book of witchcraft. This final excerpt is heavily degraded, especially towards the end. The monk carrying the painting stumbles, and the painting falls into the rainy street. She sharpens on end of a leg and uses the parts to fashion a homemade axe. He becomes bored in the utopia because life there is perfect. Finally, in December 1970 (17 years later), he gets a letter from Rex who says he only just received Zeno's letters (presumably, the bureau mislaid them for some time). She finally finds a hand-written sign that reads (Sheria). They demand that Omeir (and his two bulls, Tree and Moonlight) report to capital at Edirne to join in the upcoming war efforts as part of the Saracen army. In May 2030, he writes to Marian, asking about the work that Zeno had been doing. Stationed in Pyongyang in March 1951, Zeno gets the nickname of Z. By. Cloud Cuckoo Land is a beautiful book, in its language, in its storytelling, in its urgency to steward literature and the natural world. As he works on the play with them, Zeno realizes that he finally feels fully awake again. He regained it by donating silver to buy a blessing at the shrine of the Virgin of the Source, where drinking from the holy well restored his vision. He falls off his stool and then throws up black vomit. He sets up traps in the forest, but they continue to be empty. After Konstance's mother dies, her father puts Konstance in a makeshift biosuit, he forces their way out of the compartment, and then he takes Konstance plus a bunch of supplies to Vault One. However, she does find rooms filled with books. In Thessaly, he looks for a witch that can transform him into a bird. As she finishes reading, she thinks about the place the Italians had described of a library that could contain every text ever written. The children help Zeno to figure out that the tale ends with Aethon returning home to pass on his story (since the text is illegible toward the end). This chapter opens with an excerpt from Folio I of Cloud Cuckoo Land. The weeks later in June, the twenty youngest prisoners including Zeno and Blewitt learn that their release has bee negotiated. Reader Q&A, Ilium later develops a treadmill prototype for navigating the map. On stage, the kids act out the part of the story where Aethon-the-donkey eats the seaweed and transforms into a fish. We will closely examine the emotional impact of the ending and delve into how it resonates with the novels overarching themes of race, identity, family, and love. It takes 13 days to reach Edirne. She thinks about what the Italian trader had said about books being destroyed: Day after day, year after year, time wipes the old books from the world. That night, Anna starts reading the story to Maria to distract her from her woes. She finds a place to hide on a hill near a well under some trees, and she sleeps all day. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. The bombing does not go as planned, and Zeno confronts Seymour. There are many parts of the text that have been added in brackets by the translator, Zeno (including the key part where the goddess produces a rose). As everyone does needlework, Anna helps to fetch things. The Golden Ass is not made-up, in case any one is wondering. The word cloud-cuckoo-land denotes a realm of fantasy, dreams or impractical notions. She tells Anna that theyll want girls to be sold or used, and she knows because it happened to her before. 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. Unable to leave Compartment 17, Konstance puts on her Vizer and goes to the Library instead. She thinks about how shed been warned that she should leave some offerings for the revenants (spirits) that winter, but hadnt heeded those warnings. At one point, Konstance exits the Atlas and takes off her Vizer to see that her mother gone. He tells Omeir they need to get this load delivered or else theyll all be beaten. Welcome back. Outside the city walls, Omeir's oxen both die from overexertion. For weeks, he doesnt see Trustyfriend at all. A few weeks later, Konstance turns 14. 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.
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