All the Light We Cannot See

Pages: 530 📖

Year Published: 2014 🗓️

Days to Complete: 15 🕰️

Author:

Anthony Doerr was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and has a list of impressive education including Bowdoin College in Main where he earned a degree in history. He spent 10 years writing this book which received many awards, but had previously published his first novel, a memoir, and many short stories. He published his third novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land, also somewhat based in history, in 2021. He currently lives in Boise, Idaho with his wife and sons.

Learn More about Anthony Doerr

Three words to describe this read:

Vivid- Doerr's writing style truly transports the reader into the scene. I felt that I could envision the town of Saint-Malo, the six-story house where Marie Laure lived with her great uncle, the mining town of Zollverein, and the extensive education and training Werner went through prior to his time serving in World War II.

Hopeful- By no means is the story uplifting, but there is a theme that suggests we have a limited say in our destinies.

Compassionate- Doerr writes through several different perspectives and in a way, the reader feels bad for each, despite the fact that some are involved in the war and war crimes on different levels.

Quote:

"It's not a person you wish to fight, Madame, it's a system. How do you fight a system?"

"You try."

Not only does this quote capture the main conflict of the story, it's also a reminder for when you feel helpless in an unfair system.