Recommendations based on Cloud Cuckoo Landby Anthony Doerr

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. A Gentleman in Moscow

    by Amor Towles
    A Russian aristocrat's life of imprisonment in a grand hotel, discovering the beauty of life in confinement.

    From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel With his breakout debut novel, ... (Goodreads)

  2. Station Eleven

    by Emily St. John Mandel
    Post-apocalyptic exploration of a world drastically changed after a pandemic.

    An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse,, Station Eleven, tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  3. The Nickel Boys

    by Colson Whitehead
    Two boys sentenced to a brutal reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida struggle to survive and maintain their humanity.

    Author of The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in 1960s Florida. ... (Goodreads)

  4. Olive Kitteridge

    by Elizabeth Strout
    An exploration of the life of a small-town woman, revealing her struggles and emotional complexities.

    Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition – its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires. At times stern, at other times ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Overstory

    by Richard Powers
    Nine strangers are brought together by their love for trees, leading to a fight to save the last of the remaining forests.

    Nicholas Hoel, Mimi Ma, Adam Appich, Ray Brinkman, Dorothy Cazaly, Douglas Pavlicek, Neelay Mehta, Patricia Westerford, and Olivia Vandergriff are people who had unique relationships with trees which ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Starless Sea

    by Erin Morgenstern
    A graduate student discovers a mysterious book that leads him to a hidden underground library and a world of magic, love, and adventure.

    From the, New York Times, bestselling author of, The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world—a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a ... (Goodreads)

  7. Us Against You

    by Fredrik Backman
    Small town rivalry threatens the bonds of family and community as two towns battle for the same hockey team.

    The #1, New York Times, bestselling author of, A Man Called Ove, and, Beartown, returns with an unforgettable novel “about people—about strength and tribal loyalty and what we unwittingly do when ... (Barnes & Noble)

  8. This Is How You Lose the Time War

    by Amal El-Mohtar
    Two time-traveling agents from warring factions fall in love through letters, risking everything to be together.

    Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the ... (Goodreads)

  9. Anxious People

    by Fredrik Backman
    A failed bank robber takes hostages in an apartment viewing, leading to a comedic and heartwarming exploration of human connection and anxiety.

    An instant #1, New York Times, bestseller, the new novel from the author of, A Man Called Ove , is a “quirky, big-hearted novel… .Wry, wise and often laugh-out-loud funny, it’s a wholly original ... (Barnes & Noble)

  10. The Round House

    by Louise Erdrich
    A teenage boy seeks justice for a crime committed against his mother in a Native American community.

    The novel opens with Joe Coutts and his father, Judge Bazil Coutts, pulling out saplings from their house's garden and foundation. They realize Joe's mother and Bazil's wife, Geraldine Coutts, has ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Pachinko

    by Lee Min-jin
    A saga spanning four generations of a Korean family living in Japan, struggling to survive and thrive amidst prejudice and poverty.

    The novel takes place over the course of three books: Book I Gohyang/Hometown, Book II Motherland, and Book III Pachinko. In 1883, in the little island fishing village of Yeongdo , which is a ferry ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Tenth of December

    by George Saunders
    A collection of stories exploring the human condition through diverse characters and their struggles.

    A young girl named Alison is kidnapped three days before her birthday. Kyle, a boy who lives nearby whose parents enforce very strict household rules, sees the event unfold and must decide whether to ... (Wikipedia)

  13. State of Wonder

    by Ann Patchett
    A journey in the Amazon rainforest to find a missing colleague and unlock the secrets of a mysterious drug.

    In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, scientific miracles, and spiritual transformations, "State of Wonder" presents a world of stunning surprise and danger, rich in emotional ... (Goodreads)

  14. The Beekeeper of Aleppo

    by Christy Lefteri
    A Syrian couple's journey to escape war-torn Aleppo and find safety in Europe, while holding onto hope and memories of their past.

    The unforgettable love story of a mother blinded by loss and her husband who insists on their survival as they undertake the Syrian refugee trail to Europe. Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Bluest Eye

    by Toni Morrison
    Coming of age story of a young Black girl dealing with prejudice and racism in 1940s Ohio.

    In Lorain, Ohio , nine-year-old Claudia MacTeer and her 10-year-old sister Frieda live with their parents, a tenant named Mr. Henry, and Pecola Breedlove, a temporary foster child whose house was ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Gilead

    by Marilynne Robinson
    A reverend's reflections on life in the Midwest, and the lessons of faith and family.

    The book is an account of the memories and legacy of John Ames as he remembers his experiences of his father and grandfather to share with his son. All three men share a vocational lifestyle and ... (Wikipedia)

  17. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

    by Junot Díaz
    An exploration of love, identity, and the power of fate in a family's struggles and triumphs.

    Oscar de León (nicknamed Oscar Wao, a bastardization of Oscar Wilde ) is an overweight Dominican growing up in Paterson, New Jersey. Oscar desperately wants to be successful with women but, from a ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The Island of Sea Women

    by Lisa See
    The story of two women, best friends and divers, living on the Korean island of Jeju, and their struggles through decades of political upheaval and personal tragedy.

    This B&N Exclusive Edition includes a personal essay from Lisa See, as well as a discussion guide., THE, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER, ,“A mesmerizing new historical novel” (,O, The Oprah Magazine,) ... (Barnes & Noble)

  19. The Shell Collector

    by Anthony Doerr
    A collection of short stories that explore the beauty and fragility of life through the lens of characters connected to the sea.

    The exquisitely crafted stories in Anthony Doerr's acclaimed debut collection take readers from the African coast to the pine forests of Montana to the damp moors of Lapland, charting a vast physical ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Fifth Season

    by N.K. Jemisin
    A world where seismic and magical disasters ravage the land, and a woman's journey to save humanity.

    In a prologue, an extraordinarily powerful orogene discusses the sad state of the world and laments the oppression of his race. He then uses his enormous power to fracture the entire continent along ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Beartown

    by Fredrik Backman
    A small-town hockey team and its community grapple with the consequences of a traumatic event.

    Peter Andersson, in his forties, is the general manager of the ice hockey club in Beartown, a small town located somewhere in Sweden. Peter grew up in Beartown and was a junior hockey star. He went ... (Wikipedia)

  22. Kafka on the Shore

    by Haruki Murakami
    A surreal journey of self-discovery, exploring the boundaries between the real and surreal.

    Comprising two distinct but interrelated plots, the narrative runs back and forth between both plots, taking up each plotline in alternating chapters. The odd-numbered chapters tell the 15-year-old ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Remains of the Day

    by Kazuo Ishiguro
    A butler reflects on his past, grappling with the lost opportunities of a life devoted to service.

    The novel tells, in first-person narration , the story of Stevens, an English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington (who is recently deceased, and whom Stevens ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Underground Railroad

    by Colson Whitehead
    An escaped slave's daring escape to freedom, fighting against the brutality of slavery.

    The story is told in the third person, focusing mainly on Cora. Scattered single chapters also focus on Cora's mother Mabel, the slavecatcher Ridgeway, a reluctant slave sympathizer named Ethel, and ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Cutting for Stone

    by Abraham Verghese
    A sweeping journey of two twin brothers and their search for identity, belonging and family.

    The story is told by the protagonist, Marion Stone. He and his conjoined twin Shiva are born at Mission Hospital (called "Missing" in accordance with the local pronunciation), Addis Ababa , in ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Luminaries

    by Eleanor Catton
    A complex mystery set in New Zealand's gold rush era, as a web of secrets and lies unravels.

    The story begins with one of the book's protagonists, Walter Moody, arriving in the smoking room of the Crown Hotel after having encountered a horrific sight on his boat trip to Hokitika . There, he ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Such a Fun Age

    by Kiley Reid
    A young black babysitter is accused of kidnapping the white child she cares for, exposing the complexities of race and privilege in modern America.

    A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Lying Life of Adults

    by Elena Ferrante
    A coming-of-age story of a teenage girl in Naples, Italy, as she navigates the complexities of family, friendship, and identity.

    "Deux ans avant qu’il ne quitte la maison, mon père dit à ma mère que j’étais très laide." Giovanna, fille unique d’un couple de professeurs, est une enfant choyée. Mais l’année de ses douze ans, ... (Goodreads)

  29. Homegoing

    by Yaa Gyasi
    Spanning centuries, the intertwining stories of two African sisters, their descendants, and the legacy of slavery.

    Effia is raised by her mother, Baaba, who is cruel to her. Nevertheless she works hard to please her mother. Known as a beauty, Effia is intended to be married to the future chief of her village, but ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Lincoln in the Bardo

    by George Saunders
    A spiritual exploration of death, exploring the afterlife through the eyes of President Lincoln.

    In his long-awaited first novel, American master George Saunders delivers his most original, transcendent, and moving work yet. Unfolding in a graveyard over the course of a single night, narrated by ... (Goodreads)