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sauvageloup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
pros:
- the characters were probably the best part, particularly Marie-Laure and Werner, and all the side characters of Jotta, Frau Elena, Etienne, etc. Even ones like Volkheimer were compelling. There was a lot of feeling behind each of them, their struggles of fear and whether to rebel or comply felt very human, and i never felt frustrated with them despite some of their mistakes or foibles.
- the plot was good too, it stayed tight and interesting throughout and I always wanted to know what would happen next. the idea for the diamond and the model city was clever and fresh, against some of the more familiar tropes of a war novel
- i liked the characters talking about their interests - Werner and Etienne's fascination with radios, Marie-Laure with her books and her snails, Jotta with her art, Volkheimer's music, even.
- the writing was excellent too, very poetic at times, especially on discussing nature. the loss of Frederick's mind felt the most poignant, because of the pointlessness of it, how he was such a sweet boy and a dreamer, and Werner's guilt of it
- the epilogues were good, satisfying because they weren't too sad or too unrealistic. the sense of the randomness of who survives and who doesn't was palpable
- I also liked that the idea of their being a curse on the Sea of Flames was never really confirmed or not, just left as a question of belief. it was more representative whether or not the characters kept the stone than what the stone actually was.
- also, the placing of a blind character centre stage and presenting her as brave, capable and important, was good to read. while it wasn't easy for her, there wasn't a huge amount of bullying or abelism she went through, which I think makes for a change. sometimes authors seem to include disabled characters only to make them suffer, to make everyone else feel better about not being disabled.
cons:
- somehow it just didn't touch me as much as some others, particularly Life after Life which I read recently. That really showed the horror of the war somehow, whereas this felt surface level? too much like tropes? I'm not sure.
- as lovely as it was when Marie-Laure and Werner finally met, I wish they'd had more time together
- perhaps Marie-Laure was a little too perfect, though that is the point of her I suppose. Werner sees her as the pure thing the men at his school talked of. saving her was him saving the last bit of innocent goodness
- the scene were Jotta, Fray Elena and the others were abruptly raped by the Russians felt.. gratuitous. the horror of it wasn't conveyed in the short segment and it felt like an add on, like the author thought - oh and rape must happen at some time in war, and stuck it in without any emotional lead up or conclusion.
- the shortness of each chapter or segment did frustrate me a bit, always chopping and changing. I also got confused between the times, not sure how Von Rubel had in one chapter crushed the model house and in the next, couldn't find it (one was in the Paris, the other in Saint-Malo)
- whilst I (as a non-disabled person) thought Marie-Lauren's disability was written well, I did think that for Etienne's 20years of claustrophobia to disappear just like that, because he loves Marie-Laure so much he just overcomes it, wasnt a great depiction.
all in all, a very good read, but not as emotionally poignant as it might have been (or else I'm just a bit numb rn)
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, War, Terminal illness, and Sexual violence
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Excrement, Torture, and Ableism
catherineduplessis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
That doesn’t mean I only like books that are funny and lighthearted, but I also like being intrigued, surprised, kept on my toes or at least being left with some kind of reflection or food for thoughts.
Well this book only made me feel depressed, sad and heartbroken.
It’s not a bad story. The imagery is beautifully written, but it just makes it even more heartbreaking.
The story is set during WWII. I knew it wasn’t going to be all rainbows and butterflies, but I was expecting a little more reflections.. maybe?
I had a glimpse of hope at page 400 (!), but nope, it became even sadder.
The last 30 pages are the most reflective ones of the whole 530 pages book, but they are still tainted with a dark cloud of death, loneliness and sadness.
Oh, and even if the chapters are very short, the pace is VERY slow. It’s like reading someone’s everyday lives in a very depressing time. There is no plot twist. Just a long slow series of moments in 2 different people’s life slowly becoming more and more lonely and depressing.
All this to say that this book didn’t make me feel good at all and quite the contrary, it put me in a reading slump. It took me a lot longer than I thought to read it because I always wanted to do something else rather than read more of it.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Child death, Death, Torture, War, Confinement, Dementia, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Rape
Moderate: Cancer, Abandonment, Animal death, and Blood
Minor: Pregnancy
polpolpolulu's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Antisemitism, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, War, Vomit, Cancer, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Police brutality, Rape, Religious bigotry, Child death, Classism, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, and Grief
lexhowdie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Minor: Gun violence, Death, Confinement, Blood, War, Murder, and Grief
rebekahvldz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Antisemitism, Violence, Grief, Genocide, and War
Moderate: Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent, Excrement, Blood, and Animal death
autumnrh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Violence, War, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, and Gun violence
thelostbookmark22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Grief, Blood, Death, and Violence
jademolenaar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In short, this novels follows our two protagonists during World War II. We follow Werner, a German Orphan, and Marie-Laure, a blind French girl. The book takes place between 1934 and 2014, our protagonists are both teenagers during the war.
Werner is intrigued by radios and science (communication 'we cannot see'), together ith his sister and other people in the orphanage. When he gets summoned for the Nazi youth training camp he gets the opportunity to use his skills. He eventually gets to detect radios of the enemy with a couple of other soldiers. They eventually end up in France, where Werner questions his actions.
Marie-Laure brings our view of war to another level. She has been blind since the age of six, but with her fathers help she is able to find her way on her own. He builds her miniature versions of her neighbourhood, which helps with her selfconfidence, the confidence she needs to walk outside. He works at a museum in Paris, where The Sea of Flames (a diamond with a doomed end for its owner) is being guarded. When the inhabitants of Paris have to flee the diamond, and its 3 replicas, are given away, one in the position of Marie-Laure and her father.
The fact that our French girl is blind gives the story life. It gave it more meaning, more detail, more depth, more beauty. It makes you appreciate the story so much more.
Then Doerr's beautiful writing, everything made sense.
Fill you lungs. Beat your heart.
What the war did to dreamers.
We rise again in the grass. In the flowers. In songs.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Bullying, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
Minor: Death of parent
jaderio's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, and Genocide
Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Rape
treegirl22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, War, Rape, Pedophilia, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Antisemitism