Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel - Anthony Doerr

This novel beggars description. Throughout, it is multiple stories ranging from medieval Eastern Europe and Constantinople to the Korean War, the 1970s, the near future, and the farther future. At the end, the author ties them together into a coherent story, but the process of getting there is exhausting because of the suffering contained in each of the component stories. So while it is a terrific piece of writing, it isn’t an easy or a pleasant read.