All the Light We Cannot See

Author

Anthony Doerr

Back Cover

“Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.”

Our Thoughts

While the book is on the longer side, the pace is relatively easy to read. The dual narrative kept me intrigued to see where, when and how the two stories would intersect. However, there were a few times I found myself flipping back to the date page because the years weren’t necessarily chronological which made it a bit confusing at times…

I can understand why this book has been well loved but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite historical fiction from this time period. I was a bit disappointed with the end and felt short changed after having spent so much time invested in the story.

If you did like All the Light We Cannot See, I’d recommend “And There Was Light” by Jacques Lusseyran which is mentioned in the acknowledgements as well as The Paris Library which also a dual narrative historical fiction during the same time period. Check out our blog posts on the other books if you’re curious!

Genre:

Historical Fiction