Reviews tagging 'Torture'

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

31 reviews

venice_the_vampire's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

such a compelling story, i couldn’t put it down

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Racism, Violence, Hate crime, Genocide, Death, Torture, Bullying, Antisemitism, Child death, and Ableism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Mental illness, and Classism

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use

twdlover's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism

Moderate: Rape and Torture

belleden's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The

Spoiler

pointless rape chapter

is why I don’t read books written by men. 🙄 If you want to win a Pulitzer Prize, all you have to do is be a man and write a book about WWII, apparently.

I strongly disliked the way the framing device of a shifting timeline was used. The dates were sometimes clearly labeled, but often not, and I had to go back and reread several times to understand where we were in the story. I even felt that the opening chapters of the book were a spoiler and I think it would have worked much better chronologically.
Marie-Laure and her family were extremely lovable and the main reason why I kept reading.  Marie-Laure felt so real and I had a deep desire to protect her the entire time I was reading. The Sea of Flames storyline was fascinating and kept me wondering until the end.
I appreciate how this book handles trauma and the realities of war.

Spoiler

Not everyone gets a happy ending. Sometimes bad things happen to good people

  and I think historical fiction that ignores that fact is completely unrealistic.
This book was recommended for me for the Red TV prompt of the Taylor Swift reading challenge - "a book over 450 pages that will break your heart".

Spoiler

Frederick and his mother

well and truly broke my heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Child death, Antisemitism, Bullying, and War

Moderate: Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Cancer

Minor: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Rape

jiao_li's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

• 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

Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is an incredible journey through the complexities of World War II. This book takes us into the lives of characters from both France and Germany, offering a unique perspective on the war.

First of all I found the portrayal of both the French and German perspectives to be a refreshing and enlightening aspect of the book. It adds depth to the story and allows readers to see the war from different angles.

Doerr's writing really paints a beautiful picture of the settings and brings the emotions of the characters to life. Doerr delves into the lives of the characters, giving us a nuanced understanding of their experiences and how the war impacts them.

I must also mention the excellent narration by Zach Appelman, which brings the characters to life and enhances the overall experience.

It is a must-read for hisfic fans. You should read this before the Netflix series release on November!!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, War, Bullying, and Death

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Another book club read, and I'm glad I was put onto this one, as I otherwise wouldn't have bothered with it. This is a beautifully woven tale of .. uhm, nerds in World War II.

Werner is a snow-haired German lad who was orphanned by the mines of the Reich. As a curious child he develops himself into an electrical engineer who specializes in fixing radios, and is noticed by a German general who forwards him for advancement in an elite military school.
Marie-Laure is the daughter of keymaster of the French museum. She develops cataracts and goes blind as a child, and her father crates a scale model of her neighbourhood as a tactile map for her to learn her way around.
When the war starts, Marie-Laure and her father flee to her uncle's house, and Werner is a radio engineer for Hitler's army.

This story is told with deep emotional resonance, and using all sorts of literary quirks that focus on themes of light and darkness, sounds, sensation, fear and bravery, morality, logic and puzzles, knowing and learning, art and music, the love of nature, and of people. I love the descriptions of things like disappearing in fog– that it's about vanishing into whiteness rather than shadows.  The descriptions are visceral and evocative as well as clever.

This is a story of survival, of war, of fear and bloodshed, and it doesn't pull its punches. It certainly answers, in a humane way, questions about how people can do inhuman things in war, and the toll it can take on families.

I found the going slow, and occasionally tense, but also full of whimsy and beauty in contrast.
Well worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Grief, War, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Excrement, Death, Child death, Blood, Antisemitism, Vomit, Torture, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Cursing, Cancer, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Confinement, Chronic illness, Animal death, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol, Pregnancy, Classism, and Bullying

lenchen25's review

emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood, Death, War, Violence, Torture, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use

mrbean's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A lengthy narrative that is as equally intricate as it is cinematic, All the Light We Cannot See dazzles with its purple prose despite having a predictable plot and lacklustre character development. Doerr crafts a realistic atmosphere that is exquisitely picturesque with beautiful writing yet suffers tremendously from verbosity and superfluous descriptors that might detract readers from enjoying the already elaborate, convoluted plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Torture, Bullying, Murder, Antisemitism, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Blood

jlearnwriter's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, War, and Violence

Moderate: Violence, War, Sexual assault, Racism, Murder, Confinement, Bullying, Death, Torture, Grief, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Sexual violence, Rape, Racial slurs, and Police brutality

katerinakr's review

adventurous challenging hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I liked the plot wrapping -- one of the best I've read in ages.

Spoiler

The key part, though, is just annoying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Hate crime, Bullying, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Medical trauma, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, and Genocide

vas_17's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Ableism, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Antisemitism, Cancer, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, War, Xenophobia, and Violence