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A review by kaitquinn
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
5.0
All The Light We Cannot See follows the lives of two young people during WWII: a blind Parisian girl with a curious, inquisitive nature and adventurous lust for life and an orphaned German boy with a passionate intelligence for electronics and dreams of becoming a scientist instead of the coal miner he is destined to be.
Connected through curiosity and radio waves, Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig offer unique perspectives on both the war and life. As the war progresses, each character faces obstacles, decisions, and realities that test their character, morals, strengths, fears, hopes, and dreams. Anthony Doerr does not shy away from the simultaneous sting and beauty of reality and the effect of that reality on his characters. His protagonists are so well crafted, that I steadyfastly empathized with them in their suffering and rooted for them as they blossomed.
I especially found Marie-Laure to be an inspiring character. She constantly reminded me to be present, be curious, take in the world around me, and question everything, whether to learn or to form my own values and opinions rather than accept someone else's.
In All the Light We Cannot See, we learn that the blind see more than the seeing, that many are just trying to survive, and that a brave few are willing to take risks to do what's right. The book reminded me of the movie Life is Beautiful in that even in dark times, we can still find beauty, hope, and life.
Beautifully written, accurately researched, and rich with detail as intricate as the inner workings of Werner's radios and the miniature towns Marie-Laure's father builds, All The Light We Cannot See is a book that opens the eyes, stirs the heart, and begs not to be put down until read from cover to cover.
Connected through curiosity and radio waves, Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig offer unique perspectives on both the war and life. As the war progresses, each character faces obstacles, decisions, and realities that test their character, morals, strengths, fears, hopes, and dreams. Anthony Doerr does not shy away from the simultaneous sting and beauty of reality and the effect of that reality on his characters. His protagonists are so well crafted, that I steadyfastly empathized with them in their suffering and rooted for them as they blossomed.
I especially found Marie-Laure to be an inspiring character. She constantly reminded me to be present, be curious, take in the world around me, and question everything, whether to learn or to form my own values and opinions rather than accept someone else's.
In All the Light We Cannot See, we learn that the blind see more than the seeing, that many are just trying to survive, and that a brave few are willing to take risks to do what's right. The book reminded me of the movie Life is Beautiful in that even in dark times, we can still find beauty, hope, and life.
Beautifully written, accurately researched, and rich with detail as intricate as the inner workings of Werner's radios and the miniature towns Marie-Laure's father builds, All The Light We Cannot See is a book that opens the eyes, stirs the heart, and begs not to be put down until read from cover to cover.