Read it?: All The Light We Cannot See

AUTHOR: Anthony Doerr

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2014

OUR RATING: 4.5/5

THEMES: War, Historical Fiction, Drama

Synopsis:

Marie-Laure is a curious French girl who has been blind since she was six. Despite her inability to see, she paints the world rich with colour and interest, in things such as her miniature model of her neighbourhood, the priceless diamond in the guard of her father which is said to have a curse upon it, and in the swirling coldness of the sea. But Marie's life is shattered when she is forced to leave all that she loved for the confined space of an unfamiliar house in order to escape the Nazi invasion.

Werner is a smart and courageous boy from a German orphanage, who is extremely protective of his little sister, Jutta, and is intensely fascinated by radios and mechanics. When he is accepted into a military school because of this intellect, he must face some tough decisions about what is right and what is not, and when his life collides with Marie-Laure's, their paths explore the lengths that opposing forces will go to be good to each other.

Review:

All The Light We Cannot See is an intensely beautiful novel that shows the two innocent perspectives of such kind and wise characters, on perhaps the most deadly conflict in human history. This novel is not only one of the best books I have read, but it brought up so many emotions and thoughts about all that these children had to go through. Doerr's insightful style of writing makes the story captivating and easy to read, while still providing a challenging level of reading. The fragmented timeline and split perspectives evoke the touching message that although there are two sides to the war, we are all human after all.

matterofthyme xx

This post was written by Dawn.