REVIEW: All The Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)

Book: All The Light We Cannot See

Author: Anthony Doerr

Premise: For Marie-Laure, blind since the age of six, the world is full of mazes. The miniature of a Paris neighbourhood made by her father. The walled city by the sea where they take refuge when the Nazis invade Paris. And a future which draws her ever closer to Werner, a German orphan, destined to labour in the mines until a broken radio fills his life with possibility and brings him to the notice of the Hitler Youth.

[⚠️TW: rape, anti-semitism, torture, war crimes] 

This book left me feeling all the feels. Hauntingly beautiful and devistating, but with pockets of light and hope throughout. 

The chapters flick between Marie-Laure and Werner, covering their childhood then jumping to 1944 in Saint-Malo where their paths finally collide. I loved the contrast between their lives. Marie-Laure has to flee her home and suffer increasing poverty following the Nazi invasion. But she still has hope and witnesses light through the French resistance and the nature around her. Werner has little then gets brought into the Hitler youth, where he becomes trapped and disillusioned. In his story, any light gets snuffed out.

It makes an emotional read and there were a number of times I wanted to cry, particularly in Werner's story. But the story is so beautiful and worth it.