Reviews tagging 'Grief'

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

81 reviews

lauradanby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

A deeply moving and beautiful book. I appreciated how short each chapter was - only a few pages - as this made it easy to read the book when I was quite busy. I love how the novel explores the complexities of people, not categorising or making clear distinction between good and evil.

This is done to the extent where we see it as a tragedy when Werner is killed towards the end of the novel, despite him being a Nazi.

Bird obsessed Frederick is an example of how one can get caught in a system, and despite having morals and choosing free will over blind obedience, he suffers the consequences.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Cancer, Violence, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Genocide, and Death

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

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

2.5

This book was beautifully written but it is about a Nazi who falls in love with a blind girl and the author making a sympathetic Nazi makes me profoundly uncomfortable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual assault, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, Murder, Rape, Death, and Grief

nialiversuch's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Xenophobia, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Deportation, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Violence, and War

cutepatzie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? No

5.0

I am not a fan of war books. But this was surprisingly amazing. I enjoy it so much. It's a heavy book, especially if you were born in Europe. And you can understand the fear, violence, and brutality of war. The story was amazingly written. Just a great book. And also love the representation of a blind person in book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Gun violence, Gore, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Antisemitism, Child death, Death, Abandonment, Cancer, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Sexual content, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and War

apiora215's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: War, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Death, and Antisemitism

svenjaxx3's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, and Genocide

Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, and Rape

no_this_is_patrick's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional

4.75

All the Light We Cannot See is  a book that revolves around two teenagers at the time of World War II . 
Marie-Laure , a blind girl who lives with her beloved father near the Museum of Natural History and Werner , an orphan who lives in a children's home with his little sister Jutta . 

First off I would like to say that the writing style is absolutely phenomenal .  Every idea is completely unique and original and even though I'm not used to these types of books , I loved it .  It contains a beautiful message about how everything you do has an impact  , how something someone says or does can change the life of a person who lives an ocean away .  I would definitely recommend it but a little warning the book isn't for everyone.
 

The book also had its fair share of quotes and they're absolutely stunning

•  “Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.” 
•  “Is it right,” Jutta says, “to do something only because everyone else is doing it?” 
•  “Don’t you want to be alive before you die?” 
•  “Time is a slippery thing: lose hold of it once, and its string might sail out of your hands forever.” 

All the characters are very loveable but Anthony Doeer did some of the characters dirty . For example:- Jutta . Werner's little sister who I felt deserved much more recognition . I would have loved to read more of her but unfortunately towards the middle of the book her name was barely even mentioned . That was a real disappointment . 

I'm torn between rating this a 4.5 and 5 stars . The book definitely had its imperfections but it was just overshadowed by all the things I loved so I think its definitely worth a 4.75. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and War

Moderate: Grief, Rape, and Bullying

Minor: Cursing

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

"We rise again in the grass. In the flowers. In songs." 

I don't know what to tell you about this book. I am glad, that I finished it, even though it was difficult to read about all the suffering. I am so sorry for all the people that have been hurt by hate, greed and nationalism and I wish, history would have been different, but now we can only learn from it and be better. 
This book is so amazingly detailed in it's places, characters, storylines etc. It's a marvel! 
At first it was a little confusing because the chapters weren't really in a chronological order, but it honestly makes sense now. I can recommend this book, though I would tell you, that you need the energy for it. It's not an easy read. 

"When my father left, people said I was brave. But it's not bravery; I have no choice. I wake up and live my life. Don't you do the same?" 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, War, Antisemitism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Excrement, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, Death, and Death of parent

lacey_wi's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Antisemitism, Blood, Cancer, Gore, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and War