"All the Light we Cannot See"

[Lori]

Can anyone tell me if this is clean. We want to read it for our book group.
Thanks!

[Hannah]

It's very...dark in a way, because of the time period....but the writing is almost poetic and lyrical. It's not as heavy as it might be, though. I got halfway through before I had to put it aside for a move, but will probably finish it eventually. The author shows a more hopeful standpoint than many modern authors do (as hinted by the title). That said, so far I've not found something that feels deeply vulgar; but I'm only halfway. And it is quite honest about the terrors of the time, such as what happens when soldiers go into a girls' school. So there is some violence.
I'd say, so far, definitely adult...but I'm not sure I'd class it "dirty" just yet. We'll see.
Anyone else have opinions?

[Michele]

The first 1/2 is very clean and amazing. The second half gets into some pretty dark territory and the "f" words start flying. I wouldn't call it clean.

[Anna]

Wow! That's clever. Thanks for telling us about it.

[Megan]

I just finished reading it. I am usually very picky about language/sex/violence and although this book had all of those it didn't seem overly vulgar to me. For instance- yes there were several f-words, but they all came from one character who wasn't a huge part of the book.
Other atrocities of war happen (dead bodies, murder, sexual abuse) but they aren't described in detail.
So while it's not a clean book (I definitely wouldn't let a child/teen read it), I wouldn't immediately dismiss it either. The prose is so beautiful and it truly changed me for the better for having read it.

[Michele]

Thanks Megan. I think you said that very well. I guess for me the first half was so clean and beautiful it seemed like a bit of a digression on the second half. I felt like it tarnished the book for me, but I really like what you said.