All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer - September 2020 (previously read August 2015)

[Ravin]

Hannah wrote: "... I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't like it..."

For me, it was the slow pace. In too many parts of the book, nothing happens.

[Alison]

I’m a bit late to the discussion here, but I was reading so many books simultaneously, I took my time with this one. It was so beautifully written, I didn’t want it to end, so nursing it along for a few months was actually wonderful.

I did get confused once or twice with the time jumps, but for the most part I liked how it switched back and forth between Werner and Marie. What Werner was experiencing was so intense and difficult to process—as it was for him, too—so I was grateful to have a break between his chapters. Marie has such an infectious soul. Her life was fraught, too, but her spirit made it easier to read about.

SPOILER I was absolutely shocked at the sudden way Werner’s story wrapped up. There had been so much hope buoying us along, and then the warm spark of love, even hints at humanity from his peers, and then, wow. But what a powerful way to deliver the message that war is ruthless and pointless and causes so much more destruction of potential than the physical corpses we see.

There are so many beautiful ways to interpret the title, all the light we cannot see. Marie’s soul. What she sees without her eyes as a blind girl. The humanity that persists even in times of great evil. The blue light hiding within the diamond. The light from explosions happening far away but still affecting our protagonists. The light of hope underneath everything. All of it. Just beautiful. Doerr has given us a true lyrical ode to the human spirit.