All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

1254/5 Stars

Give me all the historical fiction books especially if they are as beautiful and captivating as All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Longer in length than many novels, I wanted more even when the book ended. I was completely engrossed in the storyline and the intertwining lives of Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind girl from Paris, and Werner Pfenning, an orphan from a mining town in Germany.

Set during the Second World War, All the Light We Cannot See is masterfully written. Marie-Laure LeBlanc goes blind as a young child and depends on her father for everything. He loves her deeply and cares for her as a protective and adoring father should. He is a locksmith at the Paris Museum, and Marie-Laure enjoys accompanying him to work. Werner Pfenning grows up in a German orphanage along with his younger sister. They discover a crude radio and become enamored with it. Werner becomes a skillful radio repairman with abilities that are strongly desired by the Nazi party. Marie-Laure and Werner live two very different lives from two very different places, but Anthony Doerr intertwines them beautifully.

All the Light We Cannot See contains some pretty deep and heavy themes. It touches upon survival and endurance in the midst of war. Marie-Laure in particular exhibits the strength, determination and courage to survive such trying circumstances. Some of the topics as they relate to war and the atrocities of such can be emotionally difficult, but the emotion of the book adds depth and enhances the storyline. There are some complex storylines and many smaller stories that add up to the larger beautiful whole. The reader will need to pay close attention to follow at some parts. However, paying attention is really no issue as the book is just so magnificently written and engrossing.

Anthony Doerr is an extremely talented writer. He is creative and captivating. Absolutely masterful! I will surely seek out other books written by him. My only regret with All the Light We Cannot See is that I did not read it sooner. Absolutely wonderful!