From the Bookshelf of Diversity in All Forms!…

All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr

Start date: November 1, 2016

Finish date: November 30, 2016

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: Novembers topic/theme is disabilities/abilities.
[close] Novembers topic/theme is disabilities/abilities.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 74 topics — 1,387 comments total

Monthly Group Reads

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (June 2021)
By Mariah Roze · 7 posts · 65 views

last updated Feb 12, 2024 09:45AM

The Help (March 2023)
By Mariah Roze · 4 posts · 22 views

last updated Mar 06, 2023 09:46AM

showing 2 of 2 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jun 17, 2017 *TANYA* rated it liked it

Shelves: own-it

I wanted to love this book, seriously I did. But I kept going back and forth with this book, from loving to liking it to being distracted. And then I would repeat the cycle. The story is phenomenal, endearing but sadly it just wasn't for me. : ( ...more

140 likes · Like · see review

Nov 16, 2019 Kara Ayers rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mvbs

My mom has recommended this book for years. It's been on my Kindle shelf for 4 years! I can't believe it took me this long to read it. The first 25 pages or so, I was still doubtful. I found it too descriptive and don't always like the style of switching back and forth in time. Before long, I fell in love with the characters, including the descriptions that brought them to life. Their stories were heart-wrenching and beautifully told. I read another review that felt the Sea of Flames was a metap ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2017 AJ rated it really liked it

You can also read this review at https://booksbestfriendblog.wordpress...

I know I'm in the minority here, but I just don't get why everyone loved this book. I thought it was good, but it's just a typical historical fiction novel about WWII. I went into it with extremely high expectations because of the hype (and a persistent friend who insisted I read it because it was capital A-mazing), but it fell short to me.

All the Light We Cannot See focuses on two children in Europe before and during WWI You can also read this review at https://booksbestfriendblog.wordpress...

I know I'm in the minority here, but I just don't get why everyone loved this book. I thought it was good, but it's just a typical historical fiction novel about WWII. I went into it with extremely high expectations because of the hype (and a persistent friend who insisted I read it because it was capital A-mazing), but it fell short to me.

All the Light We Cannot See focuses on two children in Europe before and during WWII. Marie-Laure is the blind daughter of the master locksmith for the Museum of Natural History in Paris. Despite her blindness, she is raised by her father to be an adventuress child enthralled by the masterpieces of Jules Verne. When Paris is about to be captured he is entrusted with an important gemstone from the museum and sent out of the city. He andMarie-Laure travel to the seaside town of Saint-Malo where his reclusive uncle lives, still suffering from PTSD from WWI.

Werner is an orphan growing up in a mining town in Germany on the eve of the war. His talent with radios lands him on the radar of a high ranking official in the party, and he is sent to a school for the top children of the Reich. Spending his childhood listening to radio broadcasts from all over the world, Werner has a hard time trying to follow the Nazi rhetoric of a greater German population that must control the the world. He also has great empathy for those targeted by 'his' side, more than enough to torment him once the human cost of his missions becomes clear.

Werner andMarie-Laure's stories intersect during one climatic day near the end of the war, in a last ditch effort for the Germans to capture Saint-Malo before the Allies arrive.

I liked the radio and science aspects of the story and how important they were to Werner's independence. I also liked the story and search for the gemstone, but it felt weird to have a search for a mythic gem in a WWII story. It seemed out of place with the gritty reality the author tried to paint of life in France and Germany during the war. Also, the time jumps were a nice trick but not really necessary in my opinion.

Overall it's a decent historical novel that shows a detailed and horrific look at Europe during WWII through two of the children caught up in it. I recommend it as long as you set your expectations accordingly. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2020 Jess Penhallow rated it liked it

Shelves: france, germany, 1940s

I don't really understand the hype for this book. There were certainly glimmers of great writing (view spoiler)but I was never completely engaged and by the last third, the part that the whole book was building to, it was really a slog.

I also didn't like the short chapter style, it made it difficult to get emersed and easy to put down. Not a bad book in any sense but also not a great one. There are ...more

2 likes · Like · see review