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maddierandolph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, and Pregnancy
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
alicemorrison1029's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Antisemitism and War
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Rape
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
PTSDalpacachii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Antisemitism, and War
pigeongreen'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Devastating.bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
I really liked the short chapters, it helped with reading it in spare moments and being motivated to pick it up more especially considering how long it is. Personally I don’t think it needed to be 500+ pages, any historical fiction over 400 pages is doing too much 😅
The characters were well developed and the writing overall was atmospheric, making me feel like I was there witnessing everything in front of me.
It felt like a disconnected, out of pocket scene just for the sake of having a rape scene. Just because it’s historically accurate does not mean it’s necessary or should be put into the story, and again, there are better ways to write it if you feel it’s a needed addition 🙃 The story was basically done- it’s serves ZERO purpose to the plot or Jutta’s character- truly pointless and typical “men writing women”
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, Grief, and War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Antisemitism
Minor: Ableism
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
emmagarvey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Bullying, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Genocide
Minor: Ableism
esjackson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Antisemitism, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Cursing and Death of parent