Reviews tagging 'Torture'

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

47 reviews

jiao_li's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is an incredible journey through the complexities of World War II. This book takes us into the lives of characters from both France and Germany, offering a unique perspective on the war.

First of all I found the portrayal of both the French and German perspectives to be a refreshing and enlightening aspect of the book. It adds depth to the story and allows readers to see the war from different angles.

Doerr's writing really paints a beautiful picture of the settings and brings the emotions of the characters to life. Doerr delves into the lives of the characters, giving us a nuanced understanding of their experiences and how the war impacts them.

I must also mention the excellent narration by Zach Appelman, which brings the characters to life and enhances the overall experience.

It is a must-read for hisfic fans. You should read this before the Netflix series release on November!!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, War, Bullying, and Death

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Another book club read, and I'm glad I was put onto this one, as I otherwise wouldn't have bothered with it. This is a beautifully woven tale of .. uhm, nerds in World War II.

Werner is a snow-haired German lad who was orphanned by the mines of the Reich. As a curious child he develops himself into an electrical engineer who specializes in fixing radios, and is noticed by a German general who forwards him for advancement in an elite military school.
Marie-Laure is the daughter of keymaster of the French museum. She develops cataracts and goes blind as a child, and her father crates a scale model of her neighbourhood as a tactile map for her to learn her way around.
When the war starts, Marie-Laure and her father flee to her uncle's house, and Werner is a radio engineer for Hitler's army.

This story is told with deep emotional resonance, and using all sorts of literary quirks that focus on themes of light and darkness, sounds, sensation, fear and bravery, morality, logic and puzzles, knowing and learning, art and music, the love of nature, and of people. I love the descriptions of things like disappearing in fog– that it's about vanishing into whiteness rather than shadows.  The descriptions are visceral and evocative as well as clever.

This is a story of survival, of war, of fear and bloodshed, and it doesn't pull its punches. It certainly answers, in a humane way, questions about how people can do inhuman things in war, and the toll it can take on families.

I found the going slow, and occasionally tense, but also full of whimsy and beauty in contrast.
Well worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Grief, War, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Excrement, Death, Child death, Blood, Antisemitism, Vomit, Torture, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Cursing, Cancer, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Confinement, Chronic illness, Animal death, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol, Pregnancy, Classism, and Bullying

lenchen25's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood, Death, War, Violence, Torture, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use

mrbean's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A lengthy narrative that is as equally intricate as it is cinematic, All the Light We Cannot See dazzles with its purple prose despite having a predictable plot and lacklustre character development. Doerr crafts a realistic atmosphere that is exquisitely picturesque with beautiful writing yet suffers tremendously from verbosity and superfluous descriptors that might detract readers from enjoying the already elaborate, convoluted plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Torture, Bullying, Murder, Antisemitism, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Blood

jlearnwriter's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, War, and Violence

Moderate: Violence, War, Sexual assault, Racism, Murder, Confinement, Bullying, Death, Torture, Grief, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Sexual violence, Rape, Racial slurs, and Police brutality

katerinakr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I liked the plot wrapping -- one of the best I've read in ages.

The key part, though, is just annoying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Hate crime, Bullying, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Medical trauma, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, and Genocide

vas_17's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Ableism, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Antisemitism, Cancer, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, War, Xenophobia, and Violence

snowwpuppet's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, War, Murder, Bullying, Confinement, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Excrement, Drug use, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Sexual assault

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

,Let's face it, the world war II genre is overplayed. The writing here wasn't bad, it was good even, but the plot mostly lost me. It mainly follows two people, a blind French girl and an orphaned German boy as they grow up in Europe. The plot just doesn't feel very grabbing or original to me, it's your standard world war II book, with a bit of romance and, for some reason fantasy, thrown in unnecessarily. The short-lived romance between the two main characters seems odd and forced and the up in the air magical artifact McGuffin that then has no actual plot value is downright strange. Honestly, the best parts of this book are the ones that focus on the German boy's sister, and fellow soldier, but even those aren't very original. There's simply so much of the same world war II book a person can read without getting tired of the same old schtick, and this hit the limit for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Gun violence, War, Antisemitism, Bullying, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs, Child death, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Death, Classism, Torture, and Cursing

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Medical content, Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Sexual assault, Deportation, and Vomit

oceanwriter's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Torture, and Rape

Minor: Death of parent