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crookedmidnight's review against another edition
5.0
Engaging story with descriptive writing that also kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. The themes are also very topical re: climate change/the future/humans being dumb
msf3's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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
4.75
damkedward's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
emjayreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
bhnmt61's review against another edition
I’m not rating this because my disappointment in this book is almost entirely because of personal peeves. I was really looking forward to it because the blurb sounded great, but I discovered while reading that I am heartily sick of two techniques Doerr uses throughout the 500+ pages. For one, the entire thing is written in present tense. Twenty years ago, this felt exciting and fresh, now it just feels exhausting. And the other is the extremely common technique of jumping back and forth between several different characters/times in order to build suspense. It makes me irritated— just when you’re really getting absorbed in one character’s story, you are suddenly pulled out of it to switch to another. I’ve read any number of novels that use this technique, and there’s nothing wrong with it per se, but I’m just tired of it (a feeling that’s been building for awhile- I almost quit reading The Bone Clocks last year because of it). I read about two hundred pages and then flipped over and read the last 50. I’m not sure I missed anything. It was not for me.
jl27's review against another edition
DNF. I am bummed about that, because I LOVED All the Light We Cannot See. The way this book is so disjointed in the beginning made it too tough to get into, and maybe it's just a current lack of focus, or maybe it this story just isn't my cup of tea. I'm not here to slam, nor give it accolades; it just wasn't doing it for me.
shubbard116's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars—- my feelings changed for this book as I moved throughout. The first 50% I was confused out of my mind and honestly considered just giving up a few times. The next 20% I finally gained understanding, but got bored in the weeds of details. The last 30% I loved and tore through. I seem to feel this way with Doeer’s books. It is clear he is a brilliant author, but my brain struggles to understand his style. There was so much density in the storyline, and oh boy did I struggle with five POVs, with two characters also having two different timelines. But I loved the idea of how the one fable drew the characters together, and how the power of storytelling and books was the central theme. I think I need to have a better functioning mind though to fully appreciate Doeer. ;)