All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

 

Title: All the Light We Cannot See

Author: Anthony Doerr

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: 

"Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris, and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the Resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge." - Back Cover

 

My Thoughts

You ever think "Gee, the world is so sad and crazy right now, reading some fiction will help with that," but what you like to read is historical fiction... so you read about the sad and crazy times of fictional characters in another time period instead? 😅 Well reading this book is like that, set during the crazy and sad times of WWII. But honestly, it was so good that it was worth every single page. 

 

Now, not every page is sad. There are a lot of sweet familial moments with a young blind girl meeting her eccentric great-uncle. Unfortunately, there is also the brainwashing of a reluctant young boy into becoming a German soldier. And you feel bad for him, and want him to come out okay, but it's confusing because he works for the bad guys. So, what I'm trying to say is, this book makes you feel all the feels. I think everyone should read it. It is the best book I've read this year. Maybe the best book I've read in a couple years. 

I actually read three quarters of it pretty quickly, but then had to let it sit for a little bit because I just had a feeling the last part was going to be very sad. I just wasn't ready for that or for it to be over. Once I was brave enough to finish it, I found that I liked the ending. It was emotional, but satisfying. 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

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