All the Light We Cannot See in Retro Chapter Chicks

Feb 12, 2015 Candi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, favorites

Brilliant and breathtaking, Anthony Doerr’s WW2 novel is one that will stay with me for a very long time. This is so much more than just a wartime account; it is a heartfelt story which illuminates the human element during these horrific times. The characterizations are superb and I loved the way the stories of Marie-Laure, the blind French girl living in German-occupied Saint-Malo, and Werner, the bright German orphan and recruit to Hitler’s Youth academy, are interlaced. The story alternates b Brilliant and breathtaking, Anthony Doerr’s WW2 novel is one that will stay with me for a very long time. This is so much more than just a wartime account; it is a heartfelt story which illuminates the human element during these horrific times. The characterizations are superb and I loved the way the stories of Marie-Laure, the blind French girl living in German-occupied Saint-Malo, and Werner, the bright German orphan and recruit to Hitler’s Youth academy, are interlaced. The story alternates between time periods and for me this technique increased the level of suspense, especially as the story progressed.

The descriptive passages highlighting the quality of light as well as the emphasis on the senses of hearing, smell, touch and taste were wonderful. Some of my favorite descriptions derived from Marie-Laure’s feelings of what it was like to be a non-sighted person. “To shut your eyes is to guess nothing of blindness. Beneath your world of skies and faces and buildings exists a rawer and older world, a place where surface planes disintegrate and sounds ribbon in shoals through the air. Marie-Laure can sit in an attic high above the street and hear lilies rustling in marshes two miles away… she hears the tamarinds shiver and the jays shriek and the dune grass burn… she hears the bones of dead whales stir five leagues below, their marrow offering a century of food for cities of creatures who live their whole lives and never once see a photon sent from the sun.”

There are an abundance of characters and these are very well developed by Anthony Doerr. Some we can clearly love, some we hate, and some we may find to be walking a nebulous line between good and evil. We witness the joy of childhood, the corruption of innocence, the strength and bonds of love, the gift of standing up for your beliefs and making a difference even in the smallest of ways, and the ultimate power of redemption. The love of a father: “His love for his daughter will outstrip the limits of his body.” The strength of an untarnished spirit full of humanity and a love for birds: “Hardly a couple of ounces of feathers and bones. But that bird can fly to Africa and back. Powered by bugs and worms and desire.” The feelings of confusion and guilt: “He is being loyal. He is being what everybody agrees is good. And yet every time he wakes and buttons his tunic, he feels he is betraying something.”

A novel about WW2 is still one which horrifies us with atrocious acts and saddens us with loss and destruction; we can never forget this part of mankind’s history. There is also a magical feel to this book with the story of a valuable, presumably cursed stone called the Sea of Flames. The theme surrounding radio communication and the links made between individuals through the radio waves is very interesting as well. This theme goes beyond the science of radio transmission to a feeling of the various ways human lives are intertwined. “Is it so hard to believe that souls might also travel those paths? That great shuttles of souls might fly about, faded but audible if you listen closely enough… the air a library and the record of every life lived, every sentence spoken, every word transmitted still reverberating within it.” All the Light We Cannot See also captivates the reader with intricate models of neighborhoods, keys, hiding places, secret messages and unlikely resistance groups, and love for books and music and knowledge.

This book is a treasure; anyone who enjoys a beautiful and compelling story should read this and savor each and every word.
...more

221 likes · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2014 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it

Shelves: own

I'm not really sure what there is left to say about this book. There are so many good reviews and some not so great.

I loved the characters, but at times I felt like the book left me wanting for something. I don't even know what that could be. As one reviewer stated, maybe it was my mood at the time, I'm just not sure.

I fell in love with Marie-Laure and her papa. The sweet little things he did for her while their lives were still normal. I'm not putting any spoilers in this book so the ones who ...more

68 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2016 Book Concierge rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, book-club, pulitzer, historical-fiction, france, library, concierge, strong-women, world-war-ii, germany

Book on CD narrated by Zach Appelman

A blind French girl and a young German orphan find their lives intersect in the walled Brittany town of Saint-Malo in August 1944. Marie-Laure is 16, and has been blind since age six. Her father works at the Natural History Museum in Paris and she has learned much by exploring with her other senses – touch, smell, sound, taste. As the Germans occupy France, Marie-Laure and her father flee to Saint-Malo and the home of her great uncle Etienne (an agoraphobic si Book on CD narrated by Zach Appelman

A blind French girl and a young German orphan find their lives intersect in the walled Brittany town of Saint-Malo in August 1944. Marie-Laure is 16, and has been blind since age six. Her father works at the Natural History Museum in Paris and she has learned much by exploring with her other senses – touch, smell, sound, taste. As the Germans occupy France, Marie-Laure and her father flee to Saint-Malo and the home of her great uncle Etienne (an agoraphobic since his return from fighting in WW I). Meanwhile Werner and his younger sister Jutta grow up in an orphanage in a mining town, where his genius for electronics comes to the attention of the Nazis and gains him entrance to an elite boys’ school.

The story is told in alternating chapters, and with alternating time frames. Each section begins with what is happening in Saint-Malo in August 1944, as the allies bomb the city, and the residents and occupying German forces seek shelter from the onslaught. But the story then separates as we follow these two different characters from 1934 onward, discovering how they come to both be in the town at that fateful time.

Doerr gives us wonderful descriptions, letting the reader experience the world as Marie-Laure or Werner does. The sections narrated by Marie-Laure are full of the use of her other senses as she tries to compensate for her lack of vision. We can smell the warm yeasty aroma of freshly baked bread, taste the salty air of a beach, feel the smooth yet textured shell of a whelk, or hear the soft strains of Clair de Lune or the screech and roar of incoming aircraft. Werner’s sections are much more internal, as he struggles with what is morally right in the face of his training (indoctrination) and obligation as a soldier of the Reich. He bears witness to horrors that Marie-Laure cannot see, or even imagine.

By the time their stories intersect I am as anxious as they are for relief from the war.

Doerr peoples the novel with a wide assortment of characters … from the competent housekeeper, to the single-minded sergeant major, they are all fully fleshed out, providing support on the one hand, or bringing cruel danger on the other.

The audio version is performed by Zach Appelman, who does a marvelous job. His gift as a voice artist makes it easy to believe he is speaking for a blind teenaged girl, a confused German boy, an elderly uncle, or a gruff soldier. As an added bonus the audio book begins and ends with the strains of Clair de Lune …. A haunting melody that is a perfect metaphor for this beautifully told story, and is still playing in my head
...more

27 likes · Like · see review

Sep 11, 2014 Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, retro-chicks-f2f, tbrhchallenge

I can't believe I didn't review this wonderful book!

I was enthralled instantly by Marie-Laure's world. Doerr did a wonderful job at writing of her experiences in war time, which was unusual for many WWII books that I've read. I had a better sense of what was happening without the visual imagery. Instead I imagined it in Marie's world, by touch, by smell, by sound...

Werner, my heart bled for him. He so wanted to do the right thing, I could tell he wanted the courage and convictions that his frien ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 03, 2024 Sarah Brown rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, 2024-reading-challenge, abc-2024

This was a lovely story. My only regret is not physically reading it. I felt like I missed some things doing the audio, but nothing to hinder the story. War is a scary time for anyone, but I never really thought of being blind during it. This gave me such a different perspective and was very different from other WWII novels I have read.

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 17, 2014 Kim rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, favourites

This was the best writing & story telling I've read in a long time. The way the author weaves different stories together in this World War 2 historical fiction is captivating - definitely a five star book. ...more

1 like · Like · see review