Cloud Cuckoo Land: Ch. 7-12

We’re continuing our close reading of Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, and, as Rhea says, it’s all about captivity. How are each of the characters being held in captivity—both outwardly and inwardly? What is holding them there? Is every idea they are held captive by bad? What about us? What are we being held captive by day in and day out? And what about poor Aethon? His story isn’t turning out as magical as he thought it would. Finally, Rhea and Shari discuss all the ways they see the characters’s stories begin to intersect and talk to one another, even though physically in some cases, there is no way they ever could. We had a lot of fun discussing this episode, and hope you enjoy listening along.Timeline for the rest of Cloud Cuckoo Land:* July 30: Chapters 13-19* Aug 6: Chapters 20-24Programing note:A head’s up on what we’re reading next. Rather than tackle three YA novels over six weeks giving none of them due diligence, we’ve decided to focus on Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayari. Afterwards, we’ll be reading some of The Arabian Nights, which Everything Sad… is written (loosely) in concert with. Everything Sad… will begin either Aug. 13th or Aug 20th, and run for three episodes.We’d love to hear from you!* Email us at: [email protected]* Follow us on Facebook: The Reader and the Writer* Subscribe to the podcast on Substack and these major platforms: Apple, Spotify, Google, AmazonThanks for reading The Reader & the Writer! Subscribe for free to receive new podcast episodes and essays straight to your inbox. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe