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.
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What Members Thought

Dec 20, 2016 David - proud Gleeman in Branwen's adventuring party rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-reads, read-by-kindlelight, drama, mariah-makes-the-world-better, group-reads, georgia-would-be-proud, this-book-made-me-feel-stuff

"Book - you have the right to a speedy trial" - review

THE DEFENSE
- The story is both heart-warming and heart-breaking at times. Anyone looking for a good cry (or an ugly cry, or a proud cry, or, well, any kind of cry, really), this is the book for you!

- Both lead characters are extremely likable and sympathetic.

- The book does a brilliant job portraying the bleakness and tragedy of war and the many different ways it can affect people's lives.

- Werner's story is particularly effective. ...more

223 likes · Like · see review

Mar 24, 2021 Amie's Book Reviews rated it it was amazing

An absolutely fantastic tale.

You will not want to put this book down.

Author Anthony Doerr has crafted a masterpiece.

Fully worthy of a 5 Star Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

5 likes · Like · see review

May 16, 2018 Megan rated it it was amazing

This was an amazing, beautiful, horrifying book. The characters and setting were well realized. I loved how radio and science interconnected the characters. The sadism of the Nazis and the hideous waste of life and potential was disturbing and heartbreaking. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending. I’ll write more later . . .

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 09, 2019 Cathie rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, 2014-releases, war, pulitzer-prize, chunkymonkey, choiceawards2014, readers-tops, 2019-reads

I found this book to be ok, and many times I was quite engrossed in the story and the characters and their stories, but I also found it too long and the ending didn't have as much impact on me as I thought it would.

I found it to be an okay storytelling of WWII in France.

May we never have to revisit the atrocities of another war, although I know for many in various parts of the world, this reality is an everyday fact. Would we be able to handle no electricity, no internet, no everyday convenien ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 21, 2015 Martha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2016, fiction, needs-trigger-warning, physical-disability

A beautiful novel about the experience of WWII from the point of view of two children, Marie-Laure Le Blanc in France and Werner Pfennig in Germany. War novels can be a challenge, they can get very heavy and depressing, but I was pleasantly surprised. Doerr portrays all of the heartbreak without getting too deep into the politics - this is all about the individuals, the children.

The negative side of this book (that made me initially give it 3 stars instead of 4) is the length! Not only the lengt ...more

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Mar 31, 2015 Lori rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

A beautifully detailed story set in occupied France and mostly told through the eyes of a blind girl and a boy with big hopes and dreams (and the brain and skills to achieve them) who is forced to become a Hitler youth. The plot was extremely original for the subject matter, and the characters jumped out of the pages.

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