All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – 5 Stars

[Elara]

5/5 — for the light, and all we never see.
But stars are too crude for this.
It deserves frequencies. Echoes. Ghost signals in the night.

“Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.”
I wanted to tattoo this sentence on the inside of my eyelids.


Werner? He’s the one that really got me.
A brilliant mind, swallowed whole by a system that rewards obedience over insight. He starts out fixing radios; by the end, you realize he’s trying to fix his own morality with nothing but scraps.


Before Marie-Laure, I have to start with her father—the quiet architect of her world.
Folding worlds into paper and footsteps.

His love is tucked into locked drawers, etched into wood grain and disguised as repetition. He crafts paths from absence so light can find its way through the cracks.

In a story about what’s seen and unseen, he’s the invisible thread holding her world together.


And then there’s Marie-Laure. Someone surviving by routine — and how survival, in her hands, looked almost like grace.

Doerr makes you think maybe this is how light survives: refracted through tragedy, carried on by the living.

[Algernon (Darth Anyan)]

I did love this novel myself, but I was curiously less enchanted with Cloud Cuckoo Land.
I find this curious, because Doerr continues to write beautifully about important things, like libraries and stuff, but I find myself no longer able to ignore the style and to focus on the message. It happened with several other writers, so I do wonder what changed? is it the author or me?

[Amy]

What a beautifully written review and I felt exactly the same way. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better and sing more of what you’re reading and writing. And thanks for bringing an older beautiful book back.

[Lyn]

Wonderful review for a wonderful book. You make me want to reread it.

[Joy D]

I loved it too.

[Booknblues]

Elara, I really want to commend you for an excellent review. You made me want to reread the book and that is something I never do.

[NancyJ]

Beautiful review!

[Joanne]

I loved this book.

[Elara]

Booknblues wrote: "Elara, I really want to commend you for an excellent review. You made me want to reread the book and that is something I never do."

*Proceeds to tip an invisible hat

[Elara]

Amy wrote: "What a beautifully written review and I felt exactly the same way. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better and sing more of what you’re reading and writing. And thanks for bringing an old..."

Looking forward to it too — sharing what catches my eye and hearing what sticks with you.

I’m fairly new to this group, and honestly, it feels like the perfect spot to drop some thoughts, pick up some great reads, and maybe accidentally get to know some brilliant people.

[Karin]

Algernon (Darth Anyan) wrote: "I did love this novel myself, but I was curiously less enchanted with Cloud Cuckoo Land.
I find this curious, because Doerr continues to write beautifully about important things, li..."

I loved this novel novel both times I listened to it, but detested Cloud Cuckoo Land and not because of the different structure.

Great review because it captures things well without giving away too much (I steer clear of long reviews because they always do that.)

[Jgrace]

I loved both of them. It is true that they are very different.

[Robin P]

Interesting, I am in the minority on this. I felt this book was overhyped, the symbolism overdone, and everything dragged out. But a big part of the problem was the way it was marketed. I thought it would be about the relationship between the 2 young people, but they only cross paths for literally a page or two.

On the other hand, I really liked Cloud Cuckoo Land.