All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, pages 251 to end

[George]

Please comment here on All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, pages 251 to the end.

[Irene]

I read this a couple of years ago, so won't be re-reading it at this time. But, I loved it. I thought the writing was wonderful and the characters so well portrayed. I had some difficulty with the very short chapters in the beginning, the shifting perspective at such a rapid pace was hard for me. But, by the end of the book, I was able to settle into the flow. And, as the book reached its climax, the shorter chapters worked very well.

[Raymunda]

Me too, read it last year. I agree Irene, very beautiful writing!
The short chapters worked very well for me and made it difficult to put the book down.

[Martha.O.S]

I am currently reading it. I'm really enjoying the structure and the writing style. The descriptions are rich and detailed. The characters are very real and their backgrounds well realised. The stories of Werner and Marie-Laure and their respective perspectives show how people evolve according to their backgrounds and how childhood relationships can sustain a person throughout their lives: Werner's relationship with his sister Jutta and Marie-Laure's with her father.

Marie-Laure's blindness is quite a clever device on the part of the author as it means her other senses are how she experiences the world around her and this makes it more palpable and real for the reader. Instead of saying she walked the short distance to the bakery, we read she walked __ paces to the bakery...

I am enjoying the short chapter structure, each from a different perspective and how, as the story is approaching its end, the timeframe closes in on itself, bringing us to the present.

The plot, centred around an invaluable diamond, is cleverly contrived, adding a mystical element and the numerous references to light describe very aptly the full spectrum of tones that characterises the various shades at which people operate, and particularly during times of war, often drawn into unfavourable situations at odds with their true nature.

[Mary]

I read this about two years ago and loved it. It's one of my all-time favorite reads.

[George]

I read this book a couple of years ago. It was a fast read with three interesting, connected stories. I thought the characters were not described in sufficient detail. The characters were interesting, extra ordinary people. Marie-Laure, a blind girl, her father, a lock keeper at the Museum of Natural History, who made a model of Saint Malo, her uncle, Eittienne, a recluse who is a hero, Werner Pfenning, an orphan who is very clever at fixing transistors, and Von Rumpel, a diamond expert. Whilst an entertaining read, not a book I would reread.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

I read this book when it was first released. All I remember really is crying through the ending. Sob big tears
Such a well written book and had I been a member at the time I would have reread this with you.

[C I N D L E]

I read 'All the Light we Cannot See' in August and out of 20 novels read since I joined Goodreads in May, it is my second favorite book read in 2018.
Pulitzer Prize thoroughly deserved!

Everything is top notch: the author's beautiful literary style, the plot, the multi-dimensional characterizations, the loaded subtexts, the themes - all solid.

5-Stars and it has been placed on my all-time top favorites list.

[Irene]

Glad you liked it so much.