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amroyer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, and War
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, and Rape
lucyatoz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
In almost alternate chapters, we also learn the story of Werner Pfennig, a German orphan. His father died in the mines and he too is destined to work there, until he find an old broken radio and his life changes forever. He is recruited and sent away to school where he develops his skills in triangulating radio signals. The lives of Marie-Laure and Werner are intertwined in a single day and it is a deeply moving story that the rest of the novel builds towards.
I had a copy of this novel on my bookshelf and listened to it on BorrowBox. I read this for prompt 25, an author "everyone" has read except you, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Violence, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Cursing
ashlynmae311's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, Antisemitism, and Grief
Minor: Cancer
sappypatheticm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
Moderate: Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Deportation
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Author: Anthony Doerr
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: May 6, 2014
T H R E E • W O R D S
Daring • Vivid • Dense
📖 S Y N O P S I S
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.
💭 T H O U G H T S
All the Light We Cannot See has sat unread on my shelf for far too long, yet with the release of the mini-series slated for December, I knew there was no better time to finally dive in. My expectations were incredibly high knowing it's beloved by so many, yet the size really had me hesitating. Unfortunately, the timing just wasn't right and my sky high expectations left me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed.
I'll start out by saying the imagery was stunning, the writing was evocative, and the relationship between Marie-Laure and her father was beautiful. I greatly appreciated the way she learned to find her own way in the world. It also paints a realistic depiction of young men being drawn into the Hitler Youth. However, the structure made it hard to follow the story at times, which made it unnecessarily long.
Even though I enjoyed the story overall, I never found myself totally invested. I know part of that was the timing and my expectations, but another part is just poor execution in putting the story onto paper. This is one case where I think I may enjoy the movie more than I did the book and I look forward to watching it sometime soon.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• WWII historical fiction buffs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"But it is not bravery; I have no choice. I wake up and live my life. Don't you do the same?"
"It's embarrassingly plain how inadequate language is."
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Child death, Mental illness, and Death of parent
PTSDsunshine671reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, and War
Minor: Cancer, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Murder
laurennicole98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Violence, and War
Moderate: Cancer, Rape, Sexual assault, and Grief
Minor: Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Abandonment
xkwright's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Genocide, Racism, Antisemitism, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
addi_m's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War
Minor: Genocide and Antisemitism
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
‘Does she grieve over his absence? Or has she calcified her feelings, protected herself, as he is learning to do?’
‘Thats how it feels… as though his love for his daughter will outstrip the limits of his body’
‘Silence is the fruit of occupation; it hangs in branches, steps from gutters.’
Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Torture, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, and War