Anthony Doerr’s newest novel is an adventure unparalleled in not only the rest of his work but in today’s canon in general. It is a sprawling, experimental piece that at its very heart is a striking ode to storytelling itself, and the ways in which we write, preserve, transmit, and transmute the stories passed down from generation to generation.

The novel follows five characters through several different time periods from the ancient past to the far future, each juggling, performing, reading,...