A review by lucyatoz
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is an sweeping epic of storytelling. Marie-Laure LeBlanc has been blind since she was six. Her father is the locksmith at the Museum of National History, and to help her find her way around Paris, he has built her a wooden model, complete with miniature house and storm drains. When the Nazis invade France, they flee Paris to Saint Malo, a port town in Brittney, to the home of her Great-Uncle Etienne, a survivor of World War I, and his housekeeper, Madame Manec.  

In almost alternate chapters, we also learn the story of Werner Pfennig, a German orphan. His father died in the mines and he too is destined to work there, until he find an old broken radio and his life changes forever. He is recruited and sent away to school where he develops his skills in triangulating radio signals. The lives of Marie-Laure and Werner are intertwined in a single day and it is a deeply moving story that the rest of the novel builds towards. 

I had a copy of this novel on my bookshelf and listened to it on BorrowBox. I read this for prompt 25, an author "everyone" has read except you, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
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