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All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr

Start date: June 15, 2015

Finish date: July 1, 2015

Discussion: Reading List

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What Members Thought

Oct 11, 2016 Ken rated it it was amazing

Shelves: finished-in-2016, contemporary

It's unusual for me to enjoy a book this long that is not a Russian novel. But Doerr pulled it off. How did he pull it off? For one thing, very few of his chapters ran longer than four pages. And some of them read like prose poems, especially the shorter ones. It's not often you come across writing like that in a sprawler.

The plot goes back and forth in more ways than one. First, there's the blind French girl and the radio engineer German boy plots playing pas de deux. And then there's the time ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Roy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: war, literary-fiction

Extraordinary. This book won a Pulitzer Prize* for good reason. The plot is deceptively simple, though the narrative is laid out in intricate and inventive fashion. A young German orphan boy is handy at mechanical fidgeting, including the self taught ability to fix just about any radio and pick up whatever transmissions are able to reach him. One such transmission that gets to Werner and his sister Jutta comes from France, sent by the great uncle of a blind girl that it is his destiny to one day Extraordinary. This book won a Pulitzer Prize* for good reason. The plot is deceptively simple, though the narrative is laid out in intricate and inventive fashion. A young German orphan boy is handy at mechanical fidgeting, including the self taught ability to fix just about any radio and pick up whatever transmissions are able to reach him. One such transmission that gets to Werner and his sister Jutta comes from France, sent by the great uncle of a blind girl that it is his destiny to one day meet. A great deal takes place between Werner hearing the broadcasts of Marie-Laure's great uncle and finally crossing paths with her. That great deal is World War II. Due to his talent, Werner lands in an academy that trains German boys to become German soldiers. Since the alternative is working in the mines, and since the school is a much more likely place for his abilities to be expanded and lead him to a better life than would unthinking manual labor, the school seems to be a superior path for Werner, allowing him to escape the standard trajectory for someone raised in an orphanage. Even though it means leaving his sister behind. But when your country is waging a war against the world that it is destined to lose, there is no straightforward path to success and happiness, only orders to put on a uniform, pick up a weapon, and fight for Hitler's warped vision. As for Marie-Laure, who is taught to handle herself in perpetual darkness as well as can be done by her doting father, she ends up in the home of her great uncle and his top secret radio transmitter in a small French town on the sea. Eventually she is separated from her father when he is taken prisoner, but left behind with her is an invaluable gift, a rare gem removed from the museum he worked in to keep it safe from treasure seeking Nazis. There is one in particular who is determined to find it, though not so much for its monetary worth as for its rumored magical properties. It is a gift that Marie-Laure is unaware is in her possession until finally figuring out clues sent by her father that lead to its discovery. The book's point of view jumps back and forth, largely between Werner and Marie-Laure, but several other significant characters get turns as well. Sequences are not entirely in chronological order. Although the narrative mostly marches forward, it also hops back or ahead without warning in a fashion that somehow manages not to be disorienting. The chapters are quite short, typically no more than five pages. I found this to be an appealing literary tactic that resulted in particularly easy reading. That plus Anthony Doerr's wonderful style of prose and the riveting story line. I could say more, a lot more, about this special novel. But I won't, as I don't want to let slip any spoilers and do not believe that I can adequately sum up with my humble words what Doerr constructs for readers with his majestic ones. Instead I end this review here by urging you to read All the Light We Cannot See. Like right now.

* http://lineaday.blogspot.com/2009/03/... ...more

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Nov 06, 2016 William rated it liked it

Shelves: 2016

A good story well told. I enjoyed the story, but in the pantheon of WW2 books, it ranks somewhere in the pack. I fail to see any overarching theme or point of view that separates it. I found the diamond a bit contrived and a bit too 'magical' and the character of the German with the lymphoma in need of saving was a distraction which in my view did not move the narrative forward.
It is indeed a good page turner, no more, no less. The prose is often beautiful and the main characters, particularly ...more

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Mar 20, 2015 Victoria rated it it was amazing

Wow. This book. Truly exceptional. Every time I had to put it down I couldn't wait to get back to it. Doerr is such a lovely writer and a true story teller. I didn't want it to end. ...more

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Jan 24, 2016 Thomas Verstynen rated it it was amazing

One of the most beautiful books you'll ever read. ...more

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Feb 14, 2015 Alan rated it liked it

Shelves: wwi-ii-and-korea, pulitzer-prize

The oft-mentioned beautiful prose tends to be overdone, and self absorbrd, sort of "see, isnt this great writing?" and the moral bashing is laid on a little thick too. I expected to like this more. Some do. ...more

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