All the Light We Cannot See

[[deleted user]]

July 2016 group read open nomination.

[Michelle]

I read this for my office book club last year. My fondest memory of the book were the peaches. Just the way it was described really brought a sort of sweetness to the story in a strange way. We read this book when I was a little tired of reading another war story so I didn't bode with this book favorably. Just seemed like there were too many WWII books saturating the market. Others in my group enjoyed the story.

[DeeplyRooted]

I have just begun reading this book. I love historical fiction. So far I am really enjoying this book. The way the author describes things is so wonderful. I am only 100 pages in and already have some pages marked for quotes I want to write down.

[Buck]

All the Light We Cannot See has a Goodreads rating of 4.31 stars based on more than 355,000 ratings. 50% of its ratings are 5 stars. Astonishing! It won the Pulitzer in 2015 as well as a number of other literary awards. I read it last year and I believe it deserves its acclaim. This is definitely one of those books everyone should read before they die.

[Cori]

I just finished reading. I could not put the book down. Absolutely loved it, but I did feel like it ended abruptly. It was kind of disappointing.

[Alastair]

I just started reading this book and am so far enjoying it very much after about 100 pages. I agree with an earlier comment that the descriptions used are wonderful, but then again, maybe that's no surprise as the language overall has been a pleasure to read. At this point I'm greatly impressed, although I'm beginning to wonder how everything will come together.

[Blythe]

I read this book in one of my other book clubs last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have read so many great books that take place during this time period, but I found this book to be very brave in the way both sides were presented. I felt very fond of even the characters you shouldn't like. To me, it really illustrated that everyone is human.

[Buck]

Here is an interesting review by a Goodreads reader. It has some quotes from the early pages of the book and photographs of Saint-Malo where much of the story takes place.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Emily]

Oh my god. I need to read this book

[Christopher]

It is an excellent book. It is a beautiful story and is prosaic enough to avoid reminding the reader that it is written in present tense (which I am not really a fan of). It was only an issue a few times and otherwise unnoticeable making it feel like reading a movie.

To avoid spoilers, I won't give anything away, but the ending feels like the ending that the most people wanted after talking it over with a large group of editors. I am not sure that it was the original intent as foreshadowing is sparse, but I do know that I felt it was too long and others feel it is too short.

[Joy]

I read this recently and enjoyed it. It was certainly a different perspective on life during WWII.

[Katy]

Blythe wrote: "I read this book in one of my other book clubs last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have read so many great books that take place during this time period, but I found this book to be very brave i..."

I read this one a few months ago. I agree with Blythe. Book has a lot of description that brings this odd world to life. These are viewpoints I haven't seen before but found them believable and insightful. You wait to see how these two disparate POV's can meet, as the two storylines move toward one another.

[[deleted user]]

I have just finished reading this and I found it very enjoyable and a well researched book. I thought the ending was realistic, all the characters, on both sides, lost so much because of the war.

If it was a hollywood ending Marie-Laure and Werner would end up marrying each other :)).

What did you think of Werner (view spoiler)[ dying the way he did? Was the author challenging us to think if myth about the diamond true or false? Did he find the diamond? (hide spoiler)]

[Buck]

Christine wrote: "What did you think of Werner (view spoiler)
..."

My reaction was similar to yours, Christine. (view spoiler)[ Verner's death was completely unexpected. With regard to the Sea of Flame, I thought that Werner did not find it, that it was lost in the sea forever. (hide spoiler)] That is one of the fine things about this book, the way it leaves us guessing. Just look at the discussion above about that very thing. It made me want to go back and reread that part, (I haven't yet) near the end of the book, to see if I would have a different reaction if I were looking for it.

[[deleted user]]

Buck wrote: "Christine wrote: "What did you think of Werner (view spoiler)
..."

My reaction was similar to yours, Christine. [spoilers removed] That is one of the fine things about this book, the way it leaves..."

I like the ending of this book for that reason too - it keeps you guessing and asking questions. Should Werner have lived? By saving Maire-Laure, Werner had atoned for his lack of action regarding his school friend. Would he have lived a relatively happy life? Maybe his death was his happy ending.