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All the Light We Cannot See - August 2014
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so far I like how short chapters are (I'm still getting use to read book on Kindle) and don't like how every other chapter is Marie and other Werner, the master builder.. well, maybe I'm start like Marie more when story goes.
Mod
I didn't mind the switches between Marie Laure and Werner, but the time shifts were difficult for me to get used to.
One of my favorites. It isn't the "regular" story of WWII, very diferent and engrossing. Love the characters!
I am planning to get to this next week. I can't wait.
Sarah, read it slowly so you can appreciate the beautiful story unfold. I tend to read too fast and miss the beauty of the written word.Rita, Werner is who he is becuase of the outwawrd circustanes, OR is it just who he is? Living in these intolerable times would have to change the direction of a young persons very life. Yet, we are all sort of hardwired as our own true self.
RitaSkeeter wrote: "Linda wrote: " One of my favorites. It isn't the "regular" story of WWII, very diferent and engrossing. Love the characters!"I'm just over halfway ..."
Have you read The Invention of Wings yet?
I read this a few weeks ago and look forward to joining in the conversation when others have finished it.
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RitaSkeeter - I agree. It is one of those situations where you would like to think that you would act more like Frederick, but knowing how things were then and how dangerous that was you can see why Werner acted the way he did. It does not make it right, but it does make you wonder how much his surroundings influenced his behaviors. I think that was done intentionally, so that you would feel for Werner and still think he was a good person at heart even though he did things that were not good. Poor Frederick!!
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Standing by and not speaking up happens all the time, even in less dangerous situations. It's one of the things we learn in anti-bullying training. Many people stand by and watch others get bullied because they are scared or don't know what to do. Standing by can be just as bad as participating. People need to learn how to speak up appropriately. It's certainly not easy.
One of my favorite recent reads. I love the writing and two lead characters!
Mod
Also, I listened to the audio, which made the time shifts more difficult to follow. I ended up getting an e-copy and read some of the parts after listening to it. This also didn't add to my enjoyment of the story, but did help me to realize that reading the story was a better experience than listening to it.
Kristie wrote: "I agree Esther. I wasn't a fan of all the time shifts, because I found it confusing. I did enjoy the writing and the characters though. Also, I listened to the audio, which made the time shifts m..."
I actually finished the whole book by listening. Time shifts didn't bother me. I am a slow reader and don't have much spare time to read. :b I am wondering if I would love the book even more if I do the actual "reading".
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1. The narration moves back and forth both in time and between different characters. How did this affect your reading experience? How do you think the experience would have been different if the story had been told entirely in chronological order?
2. Whose story did you enjoy the most? Was there any character you wanted more insight into?
3. When Werner and Jutta first hear the Frenchman on the radio, he concludes his broadcast by saying “Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever” (pages 48–49), and Werner recalls these words throughout the book (pages 86, 264, and 409). How do you think this phrase relates to the overall message of the story? How does it relate to Madame Manec’s question: “Don’t you want to be alive before you die?” (page 270)?
4. One of Werner’s bravest moments is when he confronts von Rumpel: “All your life you wait, and then it finally comes, and are you ready?” (page 465) Have you ever had a moment like that? Were you ready? What would you say that moment is for some of the other characters?
5. Why do you think Marie-Laure gave Werner the little iron key? Why might Werner have gone back for the wooden house but left the Sea of Flames?
I started this book last night. I know I am late :( but I was afraid it would be hard to read. I had no idea it was going to be so much easy and fun to read. I am 1/7th into the book already in just half an hour. Its a perfect book for my busy routine these days
Mod
Yes, I do. And I am loving the idea of having alternate chapters from two characters
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6. Von Rumpel seemed to believe in the power of the Sea of Flames, but was it truly a supernatural object or was it merely a gemstone at the center of coincidence? Do you think it brought any protection to Marie-Laure and/or bad luck to those she loved?
7. When Werner and Marie-Laure discuss the unknown fate of Captain Nemo at the end of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Marie-Laure suggests the open-endedness is intentional and meant to make us wonder (page 472). Are there any unanswered questions from this story that you think are meant to make us wonder?
8. The 1970s image of Jutta is one of a woman deeply guilt-ridden and self-conscious about her identity as a German. Why do you think she feels so much guilt over the crimes of others? Can you relate to this? Do you think she should feel any shame about her identity?
9. What do you think of the author’s decision to flash forward at the end of the book? Did you like getting a peek into the future of some of these characters? Did anything surprise you?
10. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once wrote that “the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” All the Light We Cannot See is filled with examples of human nature at its best and worst. Discuss the themes of good versus evil throughout the story. How do they drive each other? What do you think are the ultimate lessons that these characters and the resolution of their stories teach us? (Questions issued by the publisher.)
I am really late with this one this month, but I did finally manage to start it this morning! I'm not that far along, but I have to admit that I'm struggling a little to get into it at the moment. The short chapters aren't yet working for me much so far, but I'm hoping this will change as I expected to really like this book.
Mod
Aah good to know it's not just me then :) The very short chapters are throwing me off a little, but it might just be that I need to get used to them.
Finished it. Love the story. Heartbreak for werner :( Probably going to be one of the famous classics after a few decades
I am trying to get into it, but hasn't grabbed me yet. I still am anticipating an amazing read, but it is slow going..., But this is o.k.. Some of the best books start off slow, but can be well worth it in the end.
I finished this in the morning. Nothings special for me but I think one of the reason is that I just generally hate war. I liked how writer wrapped story in the end and whole radio stuff, I love to listening radio or popcast and I could imagine how Jutta and Werner must feel while listening those Etiennes broadcasts. And I wanna listen to Claire de Luna right now.
I loved the radio theme and I am not in to wars too, leaves me depressed but I enjoy history. So it was a great book for me
I finished it today, and I'm very glad I read it but I think my expectations might have been a little too high. I enjoyed it, but the middle part dragged and the very short chapters didn't help, in my opinion. Still, I did start to care about the people and the story in general a lot by the end of the novel, so I'm pleased I did end up enjoying it.
I really loved this book and find it was probably the best of have read so far this year. Can't wait to read more from this author.
I love reading all the comments and different opinions on this book.
The book is the subject of Diane Rehm's Reader Review today. It is on line right now on WAMU.org or you can stream it later today at: http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/201...
I loved this book. I don't really like reading about war,but i do enjoy a good historical book. This is now my 2nd Nazi book of the same kind and i really enjoyed it. I loved the radio theme, and how the author was able to take us back in time with ease. My favorite part of a historical book is the feeling of going back in time.If you liked this book you may also enjoy Sarah's Key.
Just heard that this book has just won the Pulitzer Prize!
Loved this book and happy to hear it won !
Can't wait to finish - at 40% which is about where I am getting really sucked in. Slow start for me, but I believe it gets way better - congrats to the Pulitzer.
It is great and if you have a chance to hear the author speak, grab it. He makes a wonderful presentation.
Kirsten wrote: "The book is the subject of Diane Rehm's Reader Review today. It is on line right now on WAMU.org or you can stream it later today at: http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/201......"Kirsten - that was a great discussion on NPR on the book. Thanks for posting.
Always good to hear discussions on Diane Rehm or On Point. WHy don't you check out my group for other books discussed: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Only 50 more people ahead of me on the library hold list!
thewanderingjew wrote: "I thought it was great!https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
All the Light We Cannot See"Great review ! I loved it too . My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club
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Book synopsis:
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, a stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.
Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.
Doerr's gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.