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A review by pgmoon
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
5.0
Giving away some teeny spoilers, so I'll tag it.
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What a breathtaking novel.
All The Light We Cannot See by [a:Anthony Doerr|28186|Anthony Doerr|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1417812584p2/28186.jpg] is a historical fiction novel set in the 1940s during World War II. You follow two people from their childhood to maturity. One character is Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a young blind girl, whose father is a key keeper at a museum with a very important task-- to keep the Nazis away from a valuable stone called the Sea of Flames, which grants the keeper immortality as everyone they love dies around them. Marie-Laure comes across problems of her own as she and her father flee Paris to live with her great-uncle in a little seaside French town.
The other character is Werner Pfennig, a young German boy in the midst of his poor country, riddled with high inflation and few jobs. His talents with technology (especially radios) has him plucked from his poor town to become what we know as the Hitler Youth program. He eventually becomes a soldier in the army.
The way Anthony Doerr writes is almost poetry, each chapter short and ending on a poignant note. You evenly follow both Marie and Werner, so you don't feel cheated out of one story over the other. I will admit that I thought the story would take a different, more fantastical theme than it did, but the story I got was not to disappoint. You follow these children throughout their lives and grow to know them so well. When they finally meet, it's at a very low point in both of their lives, but it seems to be on the rise after their one day together.
Although I do not like some things that happen at the end (maybe it's because I love these characters too much), the writing, the characters, and the emotions overpower what seem to me small flaws. Overall, the novel is fantastic, a great read for even those who shudder at the words "historical fiction".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What a breathtaking novel.
All The Light We Cannot See by [a:Anthony Doerr|28186|Anthony Doerr|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1417812584p2/28186.jpg] is a historical fiction novel set in the 1940s during World War II. You follow two people from their childhood to maturity. One character is Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a young blind girl, whose father is a key keeper at a museum with a very important task-- to keep the Nazis away from a valuable stone called the Sea of Flames, which grants the keeper immortality as everyone they love dies around them. Marie-Laure comes across problems of her own as she and her father flee Paris to live with her great-uncle in a little seaside French town.
The other character is Werner Pfennig, a young German boy in the midst of his poor country, riddled with high inflation and few jobs. His talents with technology (especially radios) has him plucked from his poor town to become what we know as the Hitler Youth program. He eventually becomes a soldier in the army.
The way Anthony Doerr writes is almost poetry, each chapter short and ending on a poignant note. You evenly follow both Marie and Werner, so you don't feel cheated out of one story over the other. I will admit that I thought the story would take a different, more fantastical theme than it did, but the story I got was not to disappoint. You follow these children throughout their lives and grow to know them so well. When they finally meet, it's at a very low point in both of their lives, but it seems to be on the rise after their one day together.
Although I do not like some things that happen at the end (maybe it's because I love these characters too much), the writing, the characters, and the emotions overpower what seem to me small flaws. Overall, the novel is fantastic, a great read for even those who shudder at the words "historical fiction".