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All the Light We Cannot See Hardback - 2014
by Anthony Doerr
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Summary
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, a stunningly ambitious and beautiful 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 lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-LaureâÈçs agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.
DoerrâÈçs gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.
Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-LaureâÈçs agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.
DoerrâÈçs gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.
Reader reviews for All the Light We Cannot See
Review summary
Readers broadly praised Anthony Doerr’s novel for its luminous, poetic prose, evocative imagery, and empathetic dual narratives of Marie-Laure and Werner. Many found it haunting and emotionally resonant, lauding its themes of light, science, and radio, and its vivid sense of place in Paris and Saint-Malo. A notable minority, however, criticized the pacing and structure—short, time-jumping chapters that felt disjointed—along with a softened, PG-13 portrayal of wartime brutality, limited moral complexity, and a contrived diamond subplot. Overall, reactions ranged from masterpiece-level admiration to frustration with a beautiful but slow, overengineered read.
Readers say this book is:
lyricalhauntingmovingevocativeslow-pacedbeautiful prosefragmented structurecharacter-drivencontrived subplotpolarizingWrite a review for this book
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From the publisher
First edition identification
The First edition of All the Light We Cannot See was published by Scribner, New York, in 2014. "First Scribner hardcover edition May 2014" is stated on the copyright page along with full number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2. Boards are navy blue with black lettering on a light green spine. Dust jacket has no statements of awards or prizes on the front and has a price stamp of $27.00.
Details
- Title All the Light We Cannot See
- Author Anthony Doerr
- Binding Hardback
- Edition Later printing
- Pages 544
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Scribner Book Company, New York
- Publication date 2014-05-06
- Features Dust Cover, Price on Product - Canadian
- ISBN 9781476746586 / 1476746583
- Weight 1.6 lbs (0.73 kg)
- Dimensions 9.25 x 6.4 x 1.7 in (23.50 x 16.26 x 4.32 cm)
- Reading level 880
-
Themes
- Aspects (Academic): Dixon
- Chronological Period: 1940's
- Cultural Region: French
- Topical: Library Reads
- Topical: Physically Challenged
- Category Fiction - Historical
- Library of Congress subjects Historical fiction, Blind
- Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2013034107
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
Media reviews
Citations
- Booklist, 04/15/2014, Page 23
- Booklist Editors Choice/Adult, 01/01/2015, Page 10
- Christian Century, 12/10/2014, Page 31
- Entertainment Weekly, 05/09/2014, Page 12
- Kirkus Best Fiction, 11/15/2014, Page 15
- Kirkus Reviews, 03/15/2014, Page 0
- Library Journal, 02/01/2014, Page 62
- Library Journal Prepub Alert, 12/01/2013, Page 68
- LJ Best Books of Year, 12/01/2014, Page 29
- New York Times Book Review, 05/11/2014, Page 16
- New Yorker (The), 06/23/2014, Page 85
- NY Times Notable Bks of Year, 12/07/2014, Page 26
- People Weekly, 05/12/2014, Page 62
- Publishers Weekly, 02/17/2014, Page 0
- Shelf Awareness, 05/06/2014, Page 0
- SLJ Best Adult Bks 4 Teens, 12/01/2014, Page 31
- Voice of Youth Advocates, 10/01/2014, Page 0
About the author
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