All the Light We Cannot See

At this point in my reading life, I'm no longer shocked when I don't fall head over heels in love with a book that the majority raves about. While I did enjoy All the Light We Cannot See, that enjoyment only came well into the second half of the book.

Mainly following Marie-Laure and Werner Pfennig, the story jumps between different times and places (predominantly during WWII). Marie-Laure is the daughter of a museum worker. When the war hits and France is occupied, the two of them take off to stay with a relative. Things are particularly lonely for Marie-Laure at her uncle's house. She's without her books and trapped inside for a long time given her father's fear for his blind daughter's safety.

Werner's story is far different. Orphaned and living with his sister and mechanically inclined, he eventually is forced to join the Nazis in their fight for the Reich. Though he doesn't think he agrees with what's going on, especially having witnessed the abuse and eventual disablement of a friend in his school days by these same people, denial and looking the other way play a big role in his service.

The stories, of course, eventually intertwine. There are some other points of view scattered throughout providing a different perspective. Another large focus of the book is a diamond that Daniel, Marie-Laure's father, flees with as a slide of hand effort. The legend is that this diamond possesses some sort of magical powers and it is a much sought-after item. This is the part of the book that's left me ambivalent. While the ‘Sea of Flames' is paired nicely with Marie-Laure's love of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, I personally don't care much for fantasy elements in historical fiction. 

As I already mentioned, I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first. The build-up was excruciatingly slow and I finally had to look up some spoilers to see if the rest of the book was going to be worth my time (something I rarely do). Over 500 pages in length and filled with thoughtful prose, this book is an investment. Ultimately, I vote that the time is worth it, but keep in mind that it's very slow-paced. I also need to point out that Anthony Doerr's writing is so lovely. That alone makes for a good reading experience.

“We rise again in the grass. In the flowers. In songs.”[a:Anthony Doerr 28186 Anthony Doerr https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1417812584p2/28186.jpg]'s writing is unique in the way that it is both beautiful and able to get the point across. Many times I find that authors focus too much on prose and are unable to tell the story simultaneously. However, Doerr can do both. The novel takes place over the course of years, from the beginning of the war to the end. The two main characters, Marie-Laure and Werner, are very young when the story begins, and we see them as they grow into teenagers. Marie-Laure is a blind girl living in France with her father, who works at the National Museum of Natural History. Doerr does a great job at bringing their relationship to life. The two of them travel to her great-uncle's house in Saint-Malo where they stay throughout the course of the war. She has a love of shells, which is a reflection of the author's own passions. Werner is a german boy with a gift for science, particularly radios. He is able to fix them in quite little time. Because of this gift, he is placed in a special school where he is some distance away from his sister Jutta, who is younger than him and quite attached. We can see the effect his going away has on her and how it will later shape her life when she never sees him again after he is assigned to the war. Reading this book will make you want to know more, and due to the short chapters, you will keep turning the page. Doerr's attention to detail is admirable; he has a brilliant way of telling stories.

One of the best books I've read in a long time. The pacing was perfect and the characters were compelling. I missed so many train stops because of this book.

Absolutely lovely, though very heavy and hard to read...
I wasn't quite happy with the end, but I suppose that's war. I would have wanted to see the black market pig getting what he deserved, and I didn't. :-(
I also found the rape scene... unnecessary. It didn't add anything to the story.

What a great story, and so timely was my reading. Not the way you want things to end, but I did enjoy the ending.

Currently rating this book 5 stars through tears. Absolute masterpiece, i feel like words won't do it justice.

There was a lot of this book that I really loved. The characters, the time period, the writing. It kept me flipping pages as the stories intertwined and connections were slowly revealed. However, I did find the ending a bit lacklustre. There was such a build up and although I didn't need a happy ending, it felt somewhat rushed and that the conclusion was a bit...meh. Having said that, I did really enjoy the bulk of it do believe it's worth reading.

I had big expectations for this book, with it being set during the war. The elements are there. A blind little girl who lives with her father, being forced to fleece when the nazis invade their city. A young German boy whose gift is to work with electronics, and that's the use the nazis give him.
I expected way more of their encounter but it felt very underwhelming. Also the language throughout felt very PG-13 for a book set during the war.
The way it's written never captivated me and it took me months to finish.

FINALLY. AFTER FIVE YEARS.

Tldr: a lot of pretty words and imagery with very much nothing else.

This book is certainly beautifully written, and it contains passages that I think will stick with me for a long time.
However, I tired of the story a bit after a while and had to force my way to the end. (A lot of folks really like this book, so YMMV.)

Put this book down a few times as I just couldn't get into it, but finally I got hooked and read the last 40% in about a week.
It starts very slow, but that helps building the connection with Werner & Marie and you suffer and celebrate along with them.
Loved that the ending was “real” and not “fairy tale beautiful”. A wonderful point of view of a horrible period in history.

(3.5)
This book just didn't do it for me. had a great start and middle, but towards the end it got confusing and jumped around too much.

a positive of this book was the short chapters and writing style. the short chapters were very easy to read and the writing made it feel like I was actually there

that's the only positives tbh, was mostly bored

This book definitely did NOT have the happy ending I wanted!

An incredible read that captivates from the very start! Beautifully descriptive language, fully realised characters, and a plot that circles inexorably towards its conclusion in the most beautiful - and at times haunting - way.

I really enjoyed how Doerr brought the magical potential of radio to life, and how they shone light on occupied French civilian life as well as the life of a young German in the war. Incredible to see people swept along by larger narratives which often seem too strong for them to hold any sway over.

A very beautifully written book, which rapidly builds its world and brings the story out in full.

Full of wonder. A sensitive tragedy with what seems at first glance to be unsatisfactory endings, and yet those endings are fully intentional. There's a death at the end that feels somewhat throwaway and pointless, but the character only wanted redemption and release. The diamond remains lost, and I'm still working out why that was done..

At first, i wondered why this book is rated so high? This is just normal. It reminded me a bit of And the mountains echoed . There were pieces of story, all cute. And then it hit me, this a war story. War stories are about terror and tragedy; and once in a blue moon, about romantic love.
This book is filled with beautiful imagery, little acts of kindness, little acts of faith, innocence and gullibility of childhood. Now, it, to be this beautiful, let alone a war story, for it to be even a children's book, is a feat.
It's like this beautiful bubble, though surrounded by impending doom, trumps it circumstances with its beauty.
When it comes to this darkness of the early 1940s, this book pictures the light we never see.

One sentence synopsis... The sentimental, superficial story of a precious diamond, a gifted German boy, and a blind French girl caught in the violence of WWII. .

Read it if you like... formulaic bookclub bait. It's not poorly written or excruciatingly boring but it is bland. The two main characters are both deeply (tediously) sympathetic, the villain is a caricature, everything is so closely plotted that it's impossible to not see the author's work. .

Further reading... any of the other book-by-numbers, light, enjoyable but violently meh bookclub favs, ie. ‘The Help', ‘The Kite Runner', or for another WWII one ‘The Nightingale'.

The first half of this book was phenomenal!
The second half... I didn't like it.
It would be a 2 stars but the writing was so beautiful and I've never read anything like it. I want to read more from this author :)

This book is as melancholic as it is complex. None of the characters had a necessarily happy ending, which I appreciate. I love that the Sea of Flames remained a mystery. Was the curse real or not? Did the war end because Marie-Laure/Werner pulled a titanic lady and dropped it in the ocean? Who knows. The greatest character in my opinion, was Frederick. He had the tenacity to do what was right when all the other characters failed to do so, but because of it, he also had the saddest outcome. We rarely see books set in World War II from the perspectives of a child in an occupied city in France or a child sent to become a German soldier. It's interesting that the perspective from the few characters that are on the German side were generally reluctant and felt guilt. How many people just went along with everything and how many reveled in the position of power over others? It's impossible not to compare to the current social climate. All of the racists actively benefiting from oppressing marginalized people and the even larger amount of passive people that just go along with the bs because of convenience or unwillingness to be a Frederick. This book was well written and I enjoyed it, even if it did inspire several naps along the way.

It's not my cup of tea.

Edit: One of my friends loved this book so much that I was determined to finish this so that I can finally have a good conversation about this book with her. My 3 stars do not mean I did not entirely like it, I loved how it was written, how relatable some chapters were but as I went along and was more than 60 percent of the book, I felt like I was being dragged out of a situation I did not sign up to.

I am not sure what to say about this book. Some of it was so difficult to listen to, and those parts made me pause. But it is beautifully written and the main characters are intriguing. I am still mulling this book over and that is why I gave it 4 stars.

all over the place and a little confusing. it felt very open-ended in a way, though the last few chapters were clearly intended to provide closure.

Even though the book jumped back and forward in time, which I'm not a fan of, I really enjoyed this book. The characters felt so real!

Heartbreaking, yet honest depiction of a war through the eyes of innocent youth. The story was engaging and well written.

I always feel particularly silly writing reviews for books that win awards like, ya know, the Pulitzer. Let's just say I agree with the selection committee's wisdom. Really moving historical fiction that feels painfully salient in today's political climate (even more so than when it was published in 2014), and I especially enjoyed its unusual combination of poignancy and urgency. A very quick read I didn't want to have end.

An extraordinary book about tricky interweaving of life of completely different people. About war and how it ruins everything to the point when there is nothing left. When people are against people, they are no longer human. But still, there is a light we cannot see.