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A review by unoriginalinspiration
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Werner is succeeding. He is being loyal. He is being what everybody agrees is good. And yet every time he wakes and buttons his tunic, he feels he is betraying something.
"Then help us."
"I don't want to make trouble Madame."
"Isn't doing nothing a kind of troublemaking?"
"Doing nothing is doing nothing."
"Doing nothing is as good as collaborating."
Set in World War II, All the Light We Cannot See is a beautiful depiction of the reality of the war. Set in Paris, the Walled city of St Malo and a small town in Germany, It walks us through the parallel tales of Warner Pfennig, a prodigal orphan boy from Germany, and Marie Laure LeBlanc, the blind daughter of a worker at one of Paris' museum's, with a brief overlap where their lives come together. The narration, though beautiful, was a little confusing to follow, and the jumps in time weren't apparent until I consulted the internet.
The story has a little bit of everything ranging from a mystical missing gem, a radical housekeeper, a relative with a crippling fear, a missing father, a technologically gifted young boy enlisted to work in the war, illegal radio transmissions, and it all ties into a neat little package.
Although some parts of the writing were beautiful, I found this book a little difficult to get through, even though the chapters were super short, which I always enjoy.
"Then help us."
"I don't want to make trouble Madame."
"Isn't doing nothing a kind of troublemaking?"
"Doing nothing is doing nothing."
"Doing nothing is as good as collaborating."
Set in World War II, All the Light We Cannot See is a beautiful depiction of the reality of the war. Set in Paris, the Walled city of St Malo and a small town in Germany, It walks us through the parallel tales of Warner Pfennig, a prodigal orphan boy from Germany, and Marie Laure LeBlanc, the blind daughter of a worker at one of Paris' museum's, with a brief overlap where their lives come together. The narration, though beautiful, was a little confusing to follow, and the jumps in time weren't apparent until I consulted the internet.
The story has a little bit of everything ranging from a mystical missing gem, a radical housekeeper, a relative with a crippling fear, a missing father, a technologically gifted young boy enlisted to work in the war, illegal radio transmissions, and it all ties into a neat little package.
Although some parts of the writing were beautiful, I found this book a little difficult to get through, even though the chapters were super short, which I always enjoy.