Winner of the Pulitzer Prize A New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book* A National Book Award finalist * From Anthony Doerr, the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning author of Cloud Cuckoo Land, 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 … France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.
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.
Doerr’s “stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Ten years in the writing, a National Book Award finalist, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer “whose sentences never fail to thrill” (Los Angeles Times).
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Written beautifully and very thought provoking. The author takes us to a small town in France with a blind girl who has a romance with a German. There’s a missing jewel and the resistance in the small town. Is the Jewel real or the fake one?
One of the best books read in the last few years.
Interesting but tragic characters. Very long, drawn out story plot.
One of the best books I’ve read in years.
Wonderfully written with great characters and a touching story line.
My favourite fiction novel of the last 10 years. Absolutely beautiful use of the English language. Very evocative writing. Mr Doerr writes an epic tale of survival and redemption. I would give this more than 5 stars if I could and I think anyone who loves historical fiction must read this before they die.
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Takes place during the early days of Hitler’s Nazi Germany. The main character is a strong, blind girl that finds love in a strange place during a stressful time in history.
beautifully penned with many truly unique turns of phrase.
A novel set mostly in France during world war II, illustrates the sameness of humankind, despite inherent differences. This is a warm, thought provoking, work of historic fiction that I love.
I read this novel with my book club. It was a very memorable read.
Beautiful, beautiful writing.
Heartbreaking saga well told.
I loved reading this book and didn’t want it to end. Loved the characters.
Terrific book. One of the best ever read.
loved it
Great read!
We read this for Book Club and everybody liked it.
One of the worst books I have read.
I have read hundreds of books, and this one contains some of the best writing and best plot and character crafting I’ve ever encountered. WWII fiction.
engaging plot. The writing is well researched and edited. It is so unusual to have such carefully crafted text, it really is a work of art.
Compelling and thought provoking.