Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr ------------------ 2 Stars

I think I had forgotten how much I disliked Doerr's first book, All the Light We Cannot See, when I decided to pick up his newest novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land. I had incorrectly remembered that I enjoyed his first book (should have read by my blog first!), so I thought his newest novel might be a great read too. Well, deja vu all over again!

I don't what it is about Doerr's books, but I would imagine this is the last I will read. And, like his last book, Cloud Cuckoo Land is well regarded and positively reviewed by many readers. In fact, as I checked out people's thoughts about the book after finishing, I was shocked that people enjoyed the novel as much as they did. It was as if they were reading a different novel. While I do appreciate the book slightly more after finishing, I really can't come around to saying I enjoyed it.

Quick premise - the book is about five main characters who live in three different timelines but all interconnected by a story more than two millennia old that reaches them in their different lives. While all distinct and unique people, there are commonalities between them (outsiders who are facing significant adversity and challenge) that make their connections noteworthy. While it's a cumbersome and confusing structure, ultimately, it didn't take away from the story. Rather, it did add depth to the novel and kept me interested in learning more about the varying storylines. 

So, why not a better rating? Well, at the end of most days reading, it just wasn't entertaining to me. The book was monotonous and the individual stories told were just not exciting. I kept waiting and hoping things would improve but it just never got traction for me,
and I found myself rarely being interested in what was going to next happen in the story. During the final few chapters and ending it did get slightly more interesting as it was the first time it was clear how the stories connected, and while it was the most interested I was during my entire read, I couldn't get over the previous hundreds of pages that were much less engaging.

Certainly I would not recommend this book to others but it feels like this author and I just don't get along. This novel, along with his first, are highly regarded by many, and like many things in life, people have different tastes. So, perhaps it is worth giving it a try, but just remember if you don't enjoy it, I tried to warn you :). 

Daniel Silva - First Four Books of Gabriel Allon Series ------------ 4 Stars

About two months ago I began reading The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva. It was gifted to me along with the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th books of a series of spy novels about Gabriel Allon. At the time, I figured I would read one and blog about them as I have done with all my other reads over the years. After flying through the first book and beginning the second, I realized how addicting these books were and also how similar the stories. Realizing it would be four very similar blog posts, I decided to read them all and then review the lot of them; so here we are.

While all four novels are slightly different, they all revolve around an Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon, who is posing (and is) one of the greatest art restorers in the world. Through the different stories he gets torn out of his pedestrian life to help Israel and their CIA type organization go after or kill bad people. While his Jewishness is at the core of the books, the last few novels have a much stronger focus on bringing people to justice who supported or were Nazi's in the 40's. And, while these books are fiction, based on the acknowledgements and endnotes, it's clear that much of the story is based in fact and there are many, many people who never faced justice for their hand in supporting the deaths of 12 million people during the Holocaust. This includes those in a number of non-German countries and some non-Jewish religious organizations.

While Silva, the author, clearly attempts to make the reader aware of certain parts of history swept under the proverbial rug, these novels captivate the reader mostly due to the great storytelling. From the moment I started the first book, I was pretty hooked as the author has a knack for making the reader stays engaged while also layering enough background to really keep the reader interested in the characters. While there are some memorable actions sequences, much of the novel is most interesting because of the spycraft and details included. Understanding the preparation, strategy, and implementation of plans are often the most satisfying parts of the story.

As the link above noted, there are 22 books in the Gabriel Allon series. I read the first four. While I think the first two or three were my favorite (the fourth wasn't quite as strong in my opinion), I am going to give it a break for a while before taking on the other 18. While I think I probably would enjoy them and continue to be entertained and they are fairly quick reads, there are so many great books out there and want to keep moving on. Gabriel Allon - really enjoyed getting to know you! ☺️