Book Review: All The Light We Cannot See

I am fortunate enough to have found and joined a book club that started at the beginning of the year. It's the first one I have ever been a part of and I'm so excited about it. Usually, I'll read something and want to discuss it with others and instead have to settle for devouring reviews (or, you know, writing my own. . .). 

Our first book was All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Spoiler Alert: this story is phenomenal.

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I'm willing to say that this book is different than anything I've ever read. It has so many different elements to it that it almost works in spite of itself: multiple narrations, time jumps, history, war, fantasy, family. . .yet, they all fit together in a way that makes the story gripping and remarkable. 

The beginning was a little disjointed to me - the time jumps and narration switches were done in a way that felt a little sloppy or clumsy. It took me a while to get the hang of exactly who was narrating and when the narration was taking place. Because of this, I struggled to get into it. . . I felt pretty removed for a chunk of the book. I didn't give up on it, though, and I'm so glad that I didn't.

Marie-Laure and Werner, the two main characters, are so amazingly fleshed out and give such lives to what could be static personas: the blind girl, the German solider. Even taking it a bit further, they could have been typical stereotypes: the blind girl with a determined nature and heart of gold, the German solider who wrestles with right versus wrong and tries to remain true to self. Characterizing them in such a simple way, though, feels so false and unfair - they are both so much more than this and their stories are so much more than this. 

There were a few superfluous characters, a few characters whom I loved but felt didn't get enough time, but I cannot say there were any throwaway characters. I think (and this thought absolutely comes from a lot of the book club discussion, which thrills me and makes me feel so literary) that a light theme, an undertone if you will, of the story is the way that people touch you - whether they're in your life for a brief moment in time or a period of time, whether they're a part of your family, whether they share a trauma or a triumph, you don't ever exist solely as yourself without having an effect on the world around you. 

Something else worth noting is that this is the most unique World War II story I have ever read. I am equal parts fascinated by* and terrified of WWII so I've read a lot of novels pertaining to it (sidenote: I'm open to more, so please feel free to suggest them!) but absolutely none have painted even close to the picture that All The Light We Cannot See has. For one, it made me completely re-think my idea of German soldiers and Nazis. It's hard to say, "well, he was just fighting for his life" - but in the face of war, how can you say how you'd react? I think we would all like to say that in the face of death, we'd go out fighting for what we believe is right, but we truly cannot know how we'd react unless we were in that position. Take into consideration that some of the soldiers were literally kids, it adds a whole other level of complications. Anthony Doerr did not shy away from ANY of the hardships of war and I think it was a bold choice that absolutely paid off as it heightened the story's importance.

I give All The Light We Cannot See an absolute A. I would recommend it to others, perhaps with the warning regarding the slow beginning, but other than that it was a great read - it wasn't fun, it wasn't light, but it was good. 

Next up, we're reading Yes Please by Amy Poehler. I've been meaning to read it and am happy to be able to do it and discuss it with fellow strong, intelligent, inspiring women. #GirlPower.

*fascinated by in a morbid way. . .how did this happen? How did we survive? Is it possible to happen again (short answer: YES)? It's such a dark but important part of our nation's history and so, so many people are still affected by it to this day. . .it's important to learn as much about these things as possible, in my opinion. Awareness Matters.