By: Anthony Doerr
ISBN: 1476746583
Publisher: Scribner
Publication Date: 5/6/2014
Format: Audio
My Rating: 4 Stars
Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall. In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure. Doerr's gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.
My Review
A blind girl, an orphaned boy, a Nazi officer and a valuable gem converge in ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE . This award-winning story, will not soon be forgotten, a literary and historical fiction classic. Magnificently drawn with beautiful prose, set during the occupation in France during WWII with chapters told in alternating voices. From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winningAnthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller --about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Anthony Doerr builds a beautiful, expansive tale set during World War II with two main characters. Marie-Louise is a sightless girl who goes blind at age six, due to a degenerative disease, who lived with her father in Paris before the occupation; he was a master locksmith for the Museum of Natural History. Her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When she is 12, the Germans occupy Paris, and she and her father flee to Saint-Malo, a walled city on the Brittany coast, where her great-uncle owns a six-story home he hasn't left since the last World War. They carry with them a 133-carat stone that is either the Sea of Flames, the museum's most valuable diamond, or one of three convincing replicas. Young German soldier Werner is sent to Saint-Malo where Marie-Louise’s and Werner’s paths cross. His back story, in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure. The orphanage boys have one known destiny — to go straight to the mines when they turn 15. Werner lives in claustrophobic fear of his fated existence, and when he sees a ticket out, he seizes it. All the Light We Cannot See is a World War II novel about children, the kind of undertaking that requires a lot of work to rise above emotional manipulation. In the first part, the book concentrates on heartbreak and grandeur: a motherless blind girl, a white-haired orphan boy, a cursed diamond, lots and lots of bombs. However, what comes next is a beautiful woven layered story with life meaning metaphors and reflections. The Meaning: The title refers to the endless run of the electromagnetic spectrum, a scale so large that "mathematically, all of light is invisible." This motif runs through the whole novel, imparting texture and rhythm as well as a thematic tension, between the insignificant and miraculous natures of mankind and all the immeasurable components that make up our lives. A layered, bittersweet and moving novel; enthralling, vivid imagery, stunning metaphors, emotionally and beautifully written with two unusual and unlikely characters. An absorbing story of fate, love, and history connecting the pieces. It has been a while since reading this remarkable yet haunting book. Often, due to travel, especially with audio, I rate and move on reading the next book, until I arrive at my final destination, with the time to write and post my review. While making the long journey from NC back to South Florida, I listened to the audiobook narrated by Zach Appelman; you definitely get your money’s worth with a little over 16 hrs, which was ideal for my lengthy trip, taking you to another time. Invest the time, reflect; do not rush the read as you will find deep meaning.
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