All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

~ Book Club Mom

all the light we cannot see

All the Light We Cannot See
by
Anthony Doerr

Rating:

I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed this terrific book set during World War II in the walled coastal city of Saint Malo, France. It’s easy to understand why All the Light We Cannot See won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It’s a story full of great characters, important themes, and a plot that’s a wonderful mix of reality and fairytale.

Imagine being Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a young blind girl in Paris, whose entire world revolves around her father, Daniel, a trusted locksmith at the city’s Museum of Natural History. He’s built her a miniature model of their neighborhood and is busy teaching her how to find her way. Meanwhile, the threat of German occupation is real, and the museum is rushing to pack up and send off its valuable exhibits and specimens, before they become German property. Among these priceless objects is the Sea of Flames diamond, a legendary stone of mesmerizing beauty, but thought to carry a curse. When Marie-Laure and her father flee France for Saint Malo, he’s carrying a gem, but is it the Sea of Flames or a decoy?

At the same time, Werner Pfennig is a young boy growing up in an orphanage in the coal mining town of Zollverein, Germany. Desperate for a way out of a life destined for the coal mines, Werner discovers a broken radio. He’s instantly fascinated and teaches himself how to fix and build radios. A genius understanding of the math behind transmitting and receiving signals earns him a glowing reputation, but his hopeful future takes a turn when he’s called to fix a radio for a German officer. The officer recruits Werner to be a member of an elite Hitler youth group and he’s sent away to a brutal camp.

Werner becomes an expert in radio transmission, but questions of morality weigh heavy on him, especially when he’s on missions to locate enemy transmissions. When her father has to leave, Marie-Laure feels helpless in her uncle’s house where it’s becoming more and more dangerous. Slowly, these characters develop and find a way to make a difference, but their futures carry sadness as well.

I won’t spoil the story for you, so I will stop here. This is the kind of book you study. It’s full of great quotes, wonderful ideas and serious moral questions. I’m sure I will be reading this again!

I have many favorite parts, and I’ll write about them tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting – come back soon!

 

12 thoughts on “All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr”

    1. I think it may be a matter of taste. This is definitely my kind of book. I know some people didn’t like the jumping around or the ending, but that’s another blog post!

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  4. I passed on this one. I chose The Nightingale instead. It too takes place during WWII and I was intrigued by the female relationship. It was good. I was also drawn to All the Light because of the model. I loved that idea and the relationship that drives it, but I can only do so much WWII, so I passed. Now, it looks like I’ll have to read this one too. Great review. I’ll add it to the list.

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    1. I hadn’t heard of The Nightingale. I will have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation! I think readers are starting to get tired of the WW2 era. I have talked to other people who have passed on All the Light because of that. However I do think All the Light stands out. Thanks for commenting!

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  5. This novel has been the highlight of my summer reading. The story is intriguing and inventive, the language lifts off the page with such brilliance, that you are transported to another world. I didn’t want the book to end.

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    1. I agree. I read it last year and I am excited to see that my book club will be discussing it in a few months – so I can gush some more about it. Thanks for reading and commenting, Beth!

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