This episode is all about captivity. Shari and Rhea discuss each of the characters’ movement into being held captive—in some cases literally, and always within themselves.

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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 20-24

Programing 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: readerandwriterpodcast@gmail.com

* Follow us on Facebook: The Reader and the Writer

* Subscribe to the podcast on Substack and these major platforms: Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon

Thanks for reading The Reader & the Writer! Subscribe for free to receive new podcast episodes and essays straight to your inbox.

Hello Reader & Writer listeners! This week, Rhea and I are beginning a new book: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. In this episode we spend considerable time talking about Anthony Doerr and his “theory of everything” masterfully contained inside this book. We dive into the story’s strange structure: three time periods, five protagonists, and the magical myth of Aethon running throughout. We talk about quest stories. We fumble through the first seven chapters of the story, trying to make sense of each character’s situation and how each one rhymes with the others through simple repetitions and woven through motifs.

Here are the links to the interviews mentioned in the episode:

* Free Library of Philadelphia Interview with John Freeman

* Writers Symposium by the Sea interview with Dean Nelson (on All the Light We Cannot See)

* Anthony Doerr’s website

* Anthony Doerr on The Louisiana Channel

Here is the schedule for the rest of Cloud Cuckoo Land:

* July 16: Chapters 1-7

* July 23: Chapters 8-12

* July 30: Chapters 13-19

* Aug 6: Chapters 20-24

Finally, a head’s up on what we’ll be reading next, as we’ve made a change. 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: readerandwriterpodcast@gmail.com

* Follow us on Facebook: The Reader and the Writer

* Subscribe to the podcast on Substack and these major platforms: Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon

Thanks for reading The Reader & the Writer! Subscribe for free to receive new podcast episodes and Substack posts directly in your inbox.