All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 5 stars

[Cheryl]

My first reaction is why did I wait so long to read this book! Marie-Laure and her father live near the Museum of natural history where her father works. When the Nazi's occupy Paris they flee to the house of her uncle in Saint Malo. There Marie-Laure and her uncle become part of the resistance secretly sending messages to help thwart the Nazi's. Marie is also trying to keep the museums most valuable piece out of their hands. Following a separate story line is Werner, a young man from Germany caught up in the Nazi machine, who is trying to locate and eliminate those acting against the Nazi's. Eventually their paths cross.

The chapters were short and quick building suspense. The characters were well developed. Even though Werner is a Nazi his character is presented in a sympathetic light and you can understand how and why he ended up where he did. I loved everything about this book- the characters, the settings, the language. For those that love historical fiction and WWII this is a must read.

[John]

Cheryl wrote: "My first reaction is why did I wait so long to read this book! Marie-Laure and her father live near the Museum of natural history where her father works. When the Nazi's occupy Paris they flee to t..."

I was hesitant in reading this book being a Pulitzer Prize. Sometimes I read an award winning book only to scratch my head regarding why it was selected. I wasn't disappointed with this book. I loved how the individual stories of the the primary characters are headed on a collision course. It was a five-star reading for me, too.

[Joanne]

Loved this book too! And I agree with you John on some of the Prize books. When I first joined here I noticed all the literary readers and hoped I might somehow learn to love some of these books-hasn't happened, most of them still leaving me wondering why.