All the Light We Cannot See in Read Runners

Feb 03, 2022 Girish rated it it was amazing

“We rise again in the grass. In the flowers. In songs.”

“...the air a library and the record of every life lived, every sentence spoken, every word transmitted still reverberating within it.”

“So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?”

And so you wonder about the book how it throws so much light on the beauty in the world in the background of a war. Evocatively written painting pictures that stay with you long after you read the book ...more

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Nov 21, 2019 Avisek Bandyopadhyay rated it it was amazing

Shelves: awesome-reads, literary-genius, depressing, ww-ii

Ahh! The longest time I took to finish a book. And no, not because I was struggling with the book. Neither because the story was dense nor because it was boring. I was travelling, I was busy, I was doing many other things. Somehow, over a period of 2 months, the book got stretched. Now, why do I say these? Isn't it kind of commonplace to read a book over a period of time? And especially, if it's a 500+ pages book? Well, I recommend to anyone who is reading this. Open the book, dig in and complet Ahh! The longest time I took to finish a book. And no, not because I was struggling with the book. Neither because the story was dense nor because it was boring. I was travelling, I was busy, I was doing many other things. Somehow, over a period of 2 months, the book got stretched. Now, why do I say these? Isn't it kind of commonplace to read a book over a period of time? And especially, if it's a 500+ pages book? Well, I recommend to anyone who is reading this. Open the book, dig in and complete it as soon as you can. Because while binge-reading the book, it remains a very well-said story. And you will get the highs and lows of the book. The more you stretch it, the more you will get the symbolism behind it and it will be less of a story but more of a book that smartly mirrors WW II. Let me explain. The book is about a blind teenage girl named Marie-Laurie who lives with her father in France and a teenage boy named Werner who lives somewhere in Germany with his sister. And, it's about a diamond, The sea of flames, that has a red heart while brilliantly polished off from all sides. And here's what I think is brilliantly done in the book. The author, Anthony Doerr, uses these 2 characters to describe the war years and the aftermath. Marie-Laurie lived a quaint, dreamy life with his father who's a locksmith (probably the most skilled locksmith in Europe) in Paris before the war sets in. Werner lives a depressing, orphaned life in a coal-town where all kids inevitably grow up to be a miner. But, he finds out he's a genius with technology (read radios) and suddenly he thinks he can beat his fate of becoming a miner. Thus begins the war. Marie-Laurie is brought to St. Malo by his father to stay with his great-uncle because St. Malo was still safer than Paris. Werner is besotted by the grand lifestyle of a high-ranking Nazi official, and as fate would have it, he's selected in a training school to hone his technical skills. As Werner trains in a Nazi school, Marie's life grows worse. Even St. Malo is under siege and soon often, they see the worst phase of the war. Food becomes scarce, police become more intrusive and irrational and bombs terrorize the city. Werner sees the brilliance and grandeur of the training school and realizes in a year, that the standards are being lowered. Soon enough, training schools are making teenagers join the war and Germany losing its resources - monetary or otherwise. While Marie-Laurie overcomes her initial cowardice and starts being brave, the war sees a turnaround. Suddenly, Werner becomes the guerrilla warrior while Marie-Laurie gets the smarts about her. This continues until their paths cross and well, just like history, their lives meet similar ends. One thrives and the other ends its life in its own trappings.

But, while that may have sounded a bit too straight-forward, credits must be given where its due. The author reigned supreme flourishing the pen. Short chapters, strong emotions, a flurry of actions - the main plot essentially remains an unrequited love story blooming through the most impossible of times. Very well-etched characters, moving POVs and a flowing narrative with masterful editing keep up the pacing. As I said, the story works on every front. Binge it in a week, this is everything a good story should have. Stare at it long enough, you can see the structure and the woodworks. Recoomended. ...more

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