Book Review- All The Light We Cannot See

Sunday, March 20, 2016

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All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

"Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. 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, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge."



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"Don't you want to be alive before you die?"



A few weeks ago, Olivia kept mentioning on her blog and Instagram that she was completely in love with this book, All The Light We Cannot See. I'd been looking for some good book recommendations, so I requested it from my library and was soon devouring it. 



Let me just say- it did not disappoint. 

All The Light We Cannot See is an absolutely brilliant novel written by Anthony Doerr. It's definitely a long read- it's 500+ pages, and took me over a week to finish- and I'm a pretty fast reader. But it's such a beautiful work of literature that I didn't want it to end. 

That was probably my favorite part of the book- it was just so incredibly beautiful. It's difficult to explain, but Doerr's writing is some of the most beautiful that I've ever read. Everything that he writes evokes such a vivid image in the reader's mind; you're so drawn in to this world that he's created. 

The intricacy of the story, the many different layers, the lyrical sense you get as you read Doerr's words- I couldn't get enough. I wanted to keep reading it forever.

I was absolutely obsessed with these characters- I connected with them almost instantly. Marie-Laure, her father, Jutta, Etienne, Madame Manec, Frederick, Frau Elena, Dr. Geffard, Werner...I fell in love. The connection that I felt with them was so strong, it was honestly painful to read certain parts. I will say that for some reason I connected with the characters in Marie-Laure's life a lot more than I did Werner's, not exactly sure why. I just really enjoyed her storyline a lot more in general. 


One thing that I will say about the book is that it's extremely realistic- almost painfully so. It really shows what life during World War II was like; the story was told in a way that made the war feel so personal, like I understood what it was like back then on a real level. The ending was also done in a very realistic fashion- not something that I was super thrilled about. It. Hurt. At first I was kind of upset about how it was done, but the more I've thought it over, the more I've realized that it was a good way to end it. Like I said, it was super painful, but I understand that that's how it probably would have gone in real life. 


The only thing that I think I would have changed about this book is the length of time that Marie-Laure and Werner's stories converged. I wish that it had lasted a bit longer- I was looking forward to it for the entire book and then it fell a bit flat. At the same time though, it was beautiful. I really can't complain too much. 


This book is one of the best that I've read in quite some time. Elegant. Beautiful. Haunting. All The Light We Cannot See is a book that you'll never forget. 

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p.s. : sorry for being MIA this past week. tech week stole my soul, but i'm back and ready for more blogging! 






15 comments:

  1. This book sounds absolutely beautiful. I really love reading historical-fiction novels, they're just so captivating. I will definitely make sure to pick it up next time I visit the book store!

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    1. Historical fiction is so great, I just can't get enough of it! You should definitely pick this one up, it's so gorgeous:)

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  2. I've heard so much about this book but never knew much about it until this post, so THANK YOU! Now I must go and read it, although maybe not until the summer when I have a bit more time (and space to feel things). But it sounds amazing!

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    1. It's SO amazing. Oh my goodness. You should definitely read it, although I can't blame you for wanting to wait until summer- it's hard to put down!

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  3. I love beautiful books! Just the title of this book is so beautiful and deep! I will definitely be reading this ;)

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    1. Yay! You'll have to let me know what you think when you do:)

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  4. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! COULD NOT HAVE EVER SAID IT BETTER.
    GAH, the intricacy and intimacy of the story he wove and the words he spun together. I literally can't. SO beautiful. It was very hard to read and you're so right. it hurt, because it was so painfully real. So glad you read it and this review was lovely :'''')

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    1. YAY I HAVE PLEASED THE MASTER!!!!! XD
      I can't even describe how gorgeous and painful this book is. I'm so, so happy that you recommended it to me! And I'm absolutely thrilled that you liked the review:) <3

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  5. OKAY YEP YEP REMEMBER HOW I SAID THAT YOUR REVIEW WOULD PROBABLY MOST LIKELY MAYBE DEFINITELY PUSH ME OVER THE EDGE?? IT HAS. EXCUSE ME WHILE I SQUEAL IN ALL-CAPS AND LOOK FOR THE NEAREST COPY OF THIS BEAUT.

    abbiee @ the music blog

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    1. YAYAYAYYYYYY FEEL MY PAINNNNNNNN! Let me know what you think once you read it!!

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  6. My mom read this book and she loved it so much she read parts of it to me and basically told me the whole plot and I FREAKING LOVED IT

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  7. don't give any spoilers, i just requested it at my library. Just got to say I feel like this is going to be a romance(yessssssss). On that note I need some advice. I have this friend who "met" another one of my friends for the first time last saturday. And he was struck by her talent and beauty. Then he went backstage and she smiled at him. Now, he is super obsessed with thinking about her!!!!(yay). They would be so perfect together, but none of us know the next time he will see her. I swear, she is literally an angel. I have never ever ever even heard of her being mean to ANYONE. MY first friend has just been through two fairly bad relationships. Like I said, they would be so perfect. But, I don't want him or her hurt. What do I do? Do I help them get together, or just let life take its course? He is my best friend and I hate seeing him sad or upset. When he first asked if I knew her I didn't know what direction it was going in. Now, the guy is/was my kindergarten crush, but im pretty sure im over that kind of relationship. Now, he is like the older brother that i will never have. BUUUUUUUT, I might never see him again after the end of may. Fact is: We graduate from middle school in may. It has taken me nearly nine years to get this kind of relationship. I'm literally dying thinking about losing him next year. What do I do about all of this, both parts? THanks in advance

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    1. Okay, no spoilers!! I will say, don't expect it to be a huge heavy-duty romance. Just an fyi haha.
      Oh gosh. I'm terrible at this kind of stuff. As far as the possible relationship between your two friends, my advice is to stay out of it. You don't want to end up in the middle of things if they don't go well or get messy- trust me on that. It isn't fun.
      As for staying close to your friend, just do what you can to stay in contact with him. Hang out, text, etc. That's really all that you can do.

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