All the Light We Cannot See

I can't say enough about this book. Seriously, I can't really say much. It's our first book club book and I don't want to give anything away.

Even the very first page is beautiful. It opens with two epigraphs, one for each of the main characters in the novel, Werner and Marie-Laure.

Werner is a German orphan and Marie-Laure is a blind French girl. All the Light We Cannot See is a book written in the Nazi Occupation time of 1941-1944 and tells the story of how the two lives are connected. The weaving back and forth between time is outstanding. Doerr leaves you in agony as you have to wait to see what happens. And unlike other books that go back and forth between time and people, this one isn't confusing at all.

It's a new and interesting viewpoint of WW2.  A different side of German soldiers and the civilians they keep. What hatred can do to shatter peoples lives irrevocably. And the good we can find in others.

The book is in my top favorite 3 books and I highly recommend to everyone to read it. You will experience shock, terror, joy, sadness, and delight.

All the Light We Cannot See is remarkable and moving. I can only say I hope Doerr's next novel doesn't take another 10 years to write.


Update: My husband read this book and wrote his review on Goodreads. Because it's a great review and exactly what I think, I put it here:


All the Light We Cannot See 
by Anthony Doerr (Goodreads Author) 

Matthew's review 

Sep 03, 14

5 of 5 stars

bookshelves: entertainment

Read in September, 2014

I want to give this book six stars; it is perfection in what I enjoy in literature. I feel there is so much I can say and yet anything I attempt to say would feel ridiculously inadequate. Some quick-hit reactions:

*HISTORICAL FICTION: I love and read a lot of historical fiction and can say that this author has nailed the genre with this book. Clearly he did a ton of research and it is beautifully and seamlessly woven throughout.

*LITERATURE: The writing is simply a masterpiece and an instant classic. It was so beautiful to read and yet so very readable.

*NARRATION: The narration style jumping back and forth between several characters and several time periods was incredible. It takes a few chapters to get used to it, but once you get into the book you appreciate the incredible depth that this narration style provides. Well done!

*CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Like every great book, at its core this book was character driven. I cared about every main character. I love the humanity, the depth and the growth of each and every one of them.

*MYSTERY: He pulls off the underlying mysteries of the book so well and I loved the last few chapters in particular, but won't give any spoilers here.

I am sure there is so much more that I can say, but ultimately there is only one thing to say: READ THIS BOOK.