All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
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Pub Date May 06 2014 | Archive Date Jul 22 2015
HarperCollins Publishers Australia | Fourth Estate
Description
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR FICTION
A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel 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
Marie-Laure has been blind since the age of six. Her father builds a perfect miniature of their Paris neighbourhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. But when the Nazis invade, father and daughter flee with a dangerous secret.
Werner is a German orphan, destined to labour in the same mine that claimed his father’s life, until he discovers a knack for engineering. His talent wins him a place at a brutal military academy, but his way out of obscurity is built on suffering.
At the same time, far away in a walled city by the sea, an old man discovers new worlds without ever setting foot outside his home. But all around him, impending danger closes in.
Doerr’s combination of soaring imagination and meticulous observation is electric. As Europe is engulfed by war and lives collide unpredictably, ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ is a captivating and devastating elegy for innocence.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780007548675 |
| PRICE | £12.99 (GBP) |
Average rating from 4 members
Featured Reviews
Barbara R, Educator
Set mainly during World War II, this is the story of Werner, a German orphan, and Marie-Laure, a French blind girl navigating their way through troubled times. We follow each of their lives in turn but the interwoven nature aids the development of the story and the reader's curiosity without intruding with the length of the chapters just right. Sometimes this interweaving of stories can be a frustrating experience for the reader but in this case it is deftly handled.
Werner is given an escape from a life in the mines through his technical talent in fixing radios which is a skill in demand for the German army. We follow him through his training and in his final role with the army through its victories as well as its inevitable defeat.
Marie-Laure is forced to move with her father from the city to a seaside town due to her father's occupation in a museum. Unfortunately it is not enough to prevent him being imprisoned leaving Marie-Laure in the care of her 'mad' uncle Etienne and his housekeeper. Fortunately, her father has prepared his blind daughter well in being self-sufficient.
Without giving away anymore of the plot, this is a beautifully written book that stays with you long after you have finished reading it. Doerr writes with great finesse and subtlety giving the reader a tender, unusual love story that exposes us to human side of war without shoving the horrors in our faces. It tugs on our heart strings without syrupy sentimentality and without plunging us into despair for this is ultimately a tale about survival and the triumph of the human spirit.
The many threads of the story are neatly tied up by the end of the book leaving the reader fully satisfied.
