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kaitquinn's reviews
276 reviews
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
5.0
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is both sad and funny, both heartbreaking and uplifting. Based on my own experiences, I feel that Gail Honeyman gives us an honest depiction of loneliness and depression. She really captures what it's like to be in those deepest moments of depression. It was definitely hard to read at times because I relate to those feelings so much. BUT Eleanor's story and experiences are equally uplifting and hilarious as they are heartbreaking. Eleanor's story made me feel hopeful in my own journey to happiness, good mental health, and a full life. I highly recommend this book to anyone on that same journey or just starting that journey. Others will enjoy this book as well! Honeyman has created a unique character that will frustrate or annoy you one minute and make you laugh out loud and adore her the next. I almost gave this review four stars because I felt something fell flat in the last couple of chapters. I guess it was a feeling of wanting certain things to be addressed that weren't. I'll leave it at that because I'm afraid if I get anymore specific, I'll spoil it. So five stars it is because to me, this story, was more about the journey, not the finish line. Though I'm dying to know what's next for Eleanor!
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.