All the Light We Cannot See
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- Create Date：2021-08-25 06:55:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Anthony Doerr
- ISBN：0008138303
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Summary
An alternate cover edition for this ISBN can be found here
'Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever。'
For Marie-Laure， blind since the age of six， the world is full of mazes。 The miniature of a Paris neighbourhood， made by her father to teach her the way home。 The microscopic layers within the invaluable diamond that her father guards in the Museum of Natural History。 The walled city by the sea， where father and daughter take refuge when the Nazis invade Paris。 And a future which draws her ever closer to Werner， a German orphan， destined to labour in the mines until a broken radio fills his life with possibility and brings him to the notice of the Hitler Youth，
In this magnificent， deeply moving novel， the stories of Marie-Laure and Werner illuminate the ways， against all odds， people try to be good to one another。
'Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever。'
For Marie-Laure， blind since the age of six， the world is full of mazes。 The miniature of a Paris neighbourhood， made by her father to teach her the way home。 The microscopic layers within the invaluable diamond that her father guards in the Museum of Natural History。 The walled city by the sea， where father and daughter take refuge when the Nazis invade Paris。 And a future which draws her ever closer to Werner， a German orphan， destined to labour in the mines until a broken radio fills his life with possibility and brings him to the notice of the Hitler Youth，
In this magnificent， deeply moving novel， the stories of Marie-Laure and Werner illuminate the ways， against all odds， people try to be good to one another。
Reviews
Tina Ger
，
She stays under her bed。 She says， “Ce n’est pas la réalité。” （P。97）ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE – is about faith and moral。 The novel follows two young protagonists， Marie-Laure in France and Werner Pfennig in Germany， whose lives are connected by invisible lines。 They overcome their fears and the complicated twisted moral of World War II that stands between them and find each other for a brief moment。 Almost too short and yet long enough to change what needs to be changed。 What a beautiful read She stays under her bed。 She says， “Ce n’est pas la réalité。” （P。97）ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE – is about faith and moral。 The novel follows two young protagonists， Marie-Laure in France and Werner Pfennig in Germany， whose lives are connected by invisible lines。 They overcome their fears and the complicated twisted moral of World War II that stands between them and find each other for a brief moment。 Almost too short and yet long enough to change what needs to be changed。 What a beautiful read！ 。。。more
Amy
，
This was a beautifully written book。 It was very long， and for a period I didn't enjoy it as much as the start， but the way the story came together was very special。 This was a beautifully written book。 It was very long， and for a period I didn't enjoy it as much as the start， but the way the story came together was very special。 。。。more
Sarah
，
My goodness I was not expecting such a masterful and heart-wrenching experience when I started reading this book。 A wonderful blending of two children’s perspectives on the effects of war from differing sides， based entirely on their position， one a Parisian girl who is blind and forced from her home to the smaller sea-side town of Saint-Malo， and the other an orphan boy whose talent with radios takes him out of a poverty-stricken town and placed in an elite boarding school for Hitler youth。 Bot My goodness I was not expecting such a masterful and heart-wrenching experience when I started reading this book。 A wonderful blending of two children’s perspectives on the effects of war from differing sides， based entirely on their position， one a Parisian girl who is blind and forced from her home to the smaller sea-side town of Saint-Malo， and the other an orphan boy whose talent with radios takes him out of a poverty-stricken town and placed in an elite boarding school for Hitler youth。 Both children experience their lives shift towards increasing horrors and witness atrocities that only you as an adult reader fully comprehend。 A beautiful blending of the two stories and hauntingly real， this is a story that stays with you。 A must read！For the full review， check out my blog （link in bio）。 。。。more
Mark
，
Such a great book， was very sad at the end。 Just interesting to see all the different points of view。
She Reads Between Sips
，
I’m late to the party。 Sadly， I was not mesmerized or impressed by this particular story like I was with the other HF WW2 books that I’ve read so far （spoiler alert: I’ve read only two）。 I’ve owned this book before and I gave it away because I just couldn’t get the hang of it。 After that， I’ve seen the book around everywhere and I thought， well it must be a hit for a reason， right？ Well， I didn’t particularly enjoyed the story。 I found that the chapters were too long and that。 It was just jumpi I’m late to the party。 Sadly， I was not mesmerized or impressed by this particular story like I was with the other HF WW2 books that I’ve read so far （spoiler alert: I’ve read only two）。 I’ve owned this book before and I gave it away because I just couldn’t get the hang of it。 After that， I’ve seen the book around everywhere and I thought， well it must be a hit for a reason， right？ Well， I didn’t particularly enjoyed the story。 I found that the chapters were too long and that。 It was just jumping around and I couldn’t keep up。 The only one that held my attention was the blind girl and her family situation。 I know this is probably a unpopular opinion but I’m here for that and honest reviews， （Except when it comes to Harry Potter。 It’s just the greatest thing ever。 I don’t care what The Academy says， sorry not sorry）。 After all， maybe this is not even a well done review， I’m just stating why I didn’t like it。 Oh well。。。。 。。。more
Katie Williams
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A beautiful book that hurts your heart so much。 So difficult to know that this was the lives of so many during World War 2。 Initially， I found the story difficult to follow along as it has many different storylines， characters， languages， etc， but as the book progressed the connections became more apparent。 Near the end of the book I could not put it down and was felt absolutely devastated for the lives of many of the characters。 The author has a way of portraying the horrendous treatment and li A beautiful book that hurts your heart so much。 So difficult to know that this was the lives of so many during World War 2。 Initially， I found the story difficult to follow along as it has many different storylines， characters， languages， etc， but as the book progressed the connections became more apparent。 Near the end of the book I could not put it down and was felt absolutely devastated for the lives of many of the characters。 The author has a way of portraying the horrendous treatment and lives of everyone in the book without using violent or vulgar description so I found personally， it made for a more deep and emotional read。 。。。more
Tony
，
The rapid switches in time and point of view make this a captivating read。Tons of literary things I can use with my AP class as well。Highly recommend， even if this is out of your normal genre as it was mine。
Evie
，
Absolutely loved it ！！ Beautiful writing and I was immediately drawn into the pages as if I was sharing physical space with the characters from the moment I opened the book。 I loved the characters and my heart also ached for them。 It was heartwarming and real all at the same time， and didn’t shy away from the beauty of the time or the harshness of the War。 It had magic and the wonder of science all wrapped up in within the story and then wonderfully bundled up into 530 pages I could barely put d Absolutely loved it ！！ Beautiful writing and I was immediately drawn into the pages as if I was sharing physical space with the characters from the moment I opened the book。 I loved the characters and my heart also ached for them。 It was heartwarming and real all at the same time， and didn’t shy away from the beauty of the time or the harshness of the War。 It had magic and the wonder of science all wrapped up in within the story and then wonderfully bundled up into 530 pages I could barely put down all week。 I can’t wait to read it again！ 。。。more
Emily Stone
，
So incredible。 Really loved all the imagery。 Also loved that it was all based during WWII but felt so different than other books based in the same period。
Alice
，
Achingly beautiful。 Characters stay with you long after you finish the book。 Hopefully our planet doesn't enter into terrible war like that again。 Also 530 pages for book club challenge :） Achingly beautiful。 Characters stay with you long after you finish the book。 Hopefully our planet doesn't enter into terrible war like that again。 Also 530 pages for book club challenge :） 。。。more
Dan Bldrsbts
，
Loved this book when I read it and now I got a free copy for my little free library and super excited to share it with my neighborhood
Sofia
，
Beautifully written。 So unbelievably beautifully written。 A lot of people complain about the structure of the writing and how tedious the whole novel seems to be， but I actually quite fancied it。 The short chapters were also a win for me。 However， I was disappointed when finally Werner and Marie-Laure meet。 I had waited during the whole novel for this one encounter and was left so unsatisfied。 Their meeting was so brief， it was over before I even began to process what happened。 I loved the chara Beautifully written。 So unbelievably beautifully written。 A lot of people complain about the structure of the writing and how tedious the whole novel seems to be， but I actually quite fancied it。 The short chapters were also a win for me。 However， I was disappointed when finally Werner and Marie-Laure meet。 I had waited during the whole novel for this one encounter and was left so unsatisfied。 Their meeting was so brief， it was over before I even began to process what happened。 I loved the characters。 Absolutely enjoyed the ending。 Getting to read about all the characters years later was great。 The whole mythical stone thing I still don't get the necessity。 What was the point of adding it to the book？ An overall great read。 I do recommend it。 Everyone will have mixed feelings， but I encourage everyone to pick up at least one Anthony Dooer Novel。 You'll be amazed by the writing。 I promise。 。。。more
Amanda McLaughlin
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Okay so。 This book was very hard to continue in my opinion。 It is very long and dragged out。 On top of that， it is very confusing （especially at first）。 With all the perspective and time changes every few pages it is hard to follow at first。 With time I got used to it and what really got me to continue reading was the brilliant writing。 I think the author is incredible and really knows how to engage is readers。 The story line was interesting and the characters were easy to love。 *Spoiler Alert* Okay so。 This book was very hard to continue in my opinion。 It is very long and dragged out。 On top of that， it is very confusing （especially at first）。 With all the perspective and time changes every few pages it is hard to follow at first。 With time I got used to it and what really got me to continue reading was the brilliant writing。 I think the author is incredible and really knows how to engage is readers。 The story line was interesting and the characters were easy to love。 *Spoiler Alert* However， it was a little disappointingly the way that there was no huge climax or resolution to the story。 The whole time I was hanging on in hopes of something big occurring， but nothing major really happened in my opinion。 I thought it was odd that when Marie-Laure and Werner finally met， they were with each-other for literally less than a full day and then HE LITERALLY DIES RIGHT AWAY。 Yet it is said at the very end that Werner fell in love with a girl during his time by the water。 Like hello？？？ Is that really what the whole book was leading up to！？ So so so underwhelming。 More than 500 pages just for that🤨。 。。。more
Caitlin Alexander
，
You can see all the parts of this novel as they come together but it didn't make the ending any less enjoyable。 Points deducted for some of the descriptions of the protagonists blindness especially as her being "ugly beautiful" were ableist and took me away from the story。 You can see all the parts of this novel as they come together but it didn't make the ending any less enjoyable。 Points deducted for some of the descriptions of the protagonists blindness especially as her being "ugly beautiful" were ableist and took me away from the story。 。。。more
Ommobarak
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 رواية جميلة تستحق القراءة ، جميلة بتفاصيلها الصغيرة ، تجعلك تعيش معهم وتشعر بمعاناتهم ، كم تمنيت ان اقرا كتاب عن الحرب العالمية الثانية ، في هذا الكتاب تعيش بحق اجواء الحرب ، جميلة جدا للحد الذي جعلني اتمنى ان لا تنتهي الرواية ، وتمنيت لو يكون لها فلم يجسدها ، انها رائعة بمعنى الكلمة 。
Sofía
，
Léanlo。 Es el mejor libro que leo en este 2021。 De verdad， es espectacular
Melissa Garbin
，
2。5/5 stelle。 Il libro è scritto magnificamente， anche se a volte troppo tecnico e quasi ridondante。 Non l’ho trovato neanche lontanamente triste come avrei voluto e come da tutti descritto， a commuovermi sono stati personaggi secondari come Friedrich （amore mio）， per esempio。 Apprezzabile la minuziosa caratterizzazione di Marie-Laure e di Werner， impossibile non fare da subito il tifo per loro， ma man mano che mi avvicinavo alla fine del libro ero quasi… sollevata， perché ne ero praticamente sa 2。5/5 stelle。 Il libro è scritto magnificamente， anche se a volte troppo tecnico e quasi ridondante。 Non l’ho trovato neanche lontanamente triste come avrei voluto e come da tutti descritto， a commuovermi sono stati personaggi secondari come Friedrich （amore mio）， per esempio。 Apprezzabile la minuziosa caratterizzazione di Marie-Laure e di Werner， impossibile non fare da subito il tifo per loro， ma man mano che mi avvicinavo alla fine del libro ero quasi… sollevata， perché ne ero praticamente satura。 I continui cambi di pov e salti temporali hanno appesantito una lettura già di per sé non facile， rendendola a tratti indigesta。 Di trama， ahimè， non c’è poi molto。 Ero costantemente in attesa di chissà quale colpo di scena che però non c’è mai stato。 Nel momento in cui i tre i pov finalmente collidono， il tutto si risolve in una manciata di pagine e in fretta e furia， cosa che mi ha lasciata a dir poco insoddisfatta。 Un vero peccato， avrei voluto mi piacesse di più， ma nel complesso un romanzo discreto per me e nulla più。 。。。more
Justina Neliubšienė
，
Ar jis negalėtų kaip nors stebuklingai padaryti， kad visa tai tęstųsi？ Gal jie galėtų slėptis čia， kol baigsis karas？ Kol kariuomenės nustos žygiuoti virš jų galvų į visas puses， kol liks tik pakelti dangtį， nustumti kelis akmenis， ir namas taps vasarnamiu prie jūros？ Kol jis galės suimti delnais jos pirštus ir išvesti ją į saulę？ Jis eitų kaži kur， kad tik šitai įvyktų， iškęstų kaži ką; po vienų， trejų ar dešimties metų Prancūzija ir Vokietija reiks visai ką kita negu dabar; jie galėtų išeiti i Ar jis negalėtų kaip nors stebuklingai padaryti， kad visa tai tęstųsi？ Gal jie galėtų slėptis čia， kol baigsis karas？ Kol kariuomenės nustos žygiuoti virš jų galvų į visas puses， kol liks tik pakelti dangtį， nustumti kelis akmenis， ir namas taps vasarnamiu prie jūros？ Kol jis galės suimti delnais jos pirštus ir išvesti ją į saulę？ Jis eitų kaži kur， kad tik šitai įvyktų， iškęstų kaži ką; po vienų， trejų ar dešimties metų Prancūzija ir Vokietija reiks visai ką kita negu dabar; jie galėtų išeiti iš namo， nueiti į turistams skirtą restoranėlį， užsakyti dabar kasdieniško valgio， valgyti jį jaukiai tylėdami， kaip neva moka tylėti įsimylėjusieji。 Nuostabi knyga， kiek joje visko ir liūdesio ir gėrio。❤️ 。。。more
Erina Ciputra
，
Very beautifully written。 The time I've spent reading this book is really time well spent。The book is honestly a bit long， the pace was quite slow at the start， and the timeline jumping back and forth between several characters was slightly frustrating for me at first because I still haven't got a grasp of what's going on。 But because my sister recommended the title， I kept on reading， trying to find out what's so good about this book。 I'm glad that I did。Somewhere after a few chapters in， I sta Very beautifully written。 The time I've spent reading this book is really time well spent。The book is honestly a bit long， the pace was quite slow at the start， and the timeline jumping back and forth between several characters was slightly frustrating for me at first because I still haven't got a grasp of what's going on。 But because my sister recommended the title， I kept on reading， trying to find out what's so good about this book。 I'm glad that I did。Somewhere after a few chapters in， I started to gain more interest。 The details， the way Anthony Doerr illustrates the settings， the characters' feelings， are extraordinarily beautiful。 The two main characters， Marie-Laure and Werner Pfennig， are both very lovable。 It's interesting to hear the story from both sides of the opposing countries， France and Germany， during the World War II。The struggles they had made me realise even more， how sad and hard things were back then during the war。 Through the book， I felt like I was transported back in time to the 1940s during the World War II。 [spoilers ahead]The kindness and courage that the Pfennig siblings have， Werner and Jutta， is very warming。 Werner with his kind heart， although at times he didn't have a choice and had to do terrible things; and Jutta， the little sister that has a stronger sense of what is good and bad， who seems to be a moral compass for Werner even years after they were separated。Marie-Laure LeBlanc and her father Daniel LeBlanc have a wonderful father-daughter relationship。 Her father was especially patient with her， and he has really done everything he can for her。 His voice often appeared in her head， to guide her navigate through difficult times。 It was very sad， what has happened to him。 I expected a reunion and a happy ending， or maybe a clearer story of the Sea of Flames， which is the real one， etc。 But if you've read the book then you'll know that's not the case。 The book has a more realistic ending。 People missing， never to be heard of again， and some mysteries are just never solved。Marie-Laure's great uncle Etienne LeBlanc is a very lovable character too。 I think he was in a very bad place， but Marie-Laure's presence had pulled him out back to his senses， brought the courage inside him， and made him overcome his trauma。 It's good that Etienne was there to fill a void that Marie-Laure's father left， and took care of Marie-Laure。Discovering the world through Marie-Laure's perspective as a blind girl is quite fascinating and really just made you feel so lucky that you have a pair of healthy eyes。This is a story about war， children of the war， the will to survive， and kindness。The story ended very sadly。 Beautiful， but sad。 How I wish they could all have a happy ending。 。。。more
Maria Chambi
，
Beautifully written & at times captivating; I devoured many of the chapters but there were parts that felt difficult to get through and the eventual collision of Marie-Laure’s and Werner’s stories felt somewhat flat and too brief for me。 That said it offered an interesting insight into life in WWII France。 What a tragic war。
Sriya
，
If I had two words to describe this book， they would be heart-wrenching and beautiful。 Set in the 1940's， the plot revolves around the lives of a French girl Marie and a German boy， Werner。 The story also goes back and forth between different years which makes it all the more interesting for the readers。There's a vivid description of the war environment， the author shows Werner's ever increasing questions about the Nazi rule。All in all， a wonderful book。 If I had two words to describe this book， they would be heart-wrenching and beautiful。 Set in the 1940's， the plot revolves around the lives of a French girl Marie and a German boy， Werner。 The story also goes back and forth between different years which makes it all the more interesting for the readers。There's a vivid description of the war environment， the author shows Werner's ever increasing questions about the Nazi rule。All in all， a wonderful book。 。。。more
Sahara
，
Historical books set during WW2 is becoming really stale。 Almost the same formula and all misery and sadness。 Which is obvious but damn， every word in every page is dripping with misery， it's just exhausting at this point。 This book could have been shorter if the author didn't drone on and on about a lot of things and actually made progress to the story。 He tried so hard to be poetic and deep finishing this book became such a chore。 He wrote about a lot of things but most of those did nothing to Historical books set during WW2 is becoming really stale。 Almost the same formula and all misery and sadness。 Which is obvious but damn， every word in every page is dripping with misery， it's just exhausting at this point。 This book could have been shorter if the author didn't drone on and on about a lot of things and actually made progress to the story。 He tried so hard to be poetic and deep finishing this book became such a chore。 He wrote about a lot of things but most of those did nothing to progress the story。 Characters were boring too。 I'm surprised this book has high rating and actually won an award。 I guess it's just not for me。 。。。more
Emily Berlin
，
I loved the intricacy and beauty of this story， but it was the author's use of language that really blew me away！ I listened to the audiobook version， and it's was very well read。 I loved the intricacy and beauty of this story， but it was the author's use of language that really blew me away！ I listened to the audiobook version， and it's was very well read。 。。。more
Lara
，
AMAZING！Such beautiful prose。Such a vivid yet melancholic story。Such intricately crafted characters that you can’t not love。
Sammy Mylan
，
i hate this book so fucking much
Suzanne
，
On of my most favourite books of the centuryAn epic tale
Adela
，
The world is a frightening place， hopeless and painful， with a lot of human suffering。There is however a lot of beauty around and especially in a human heart。 This book shows us exactly that: each one of us carries the weight of the world， but in moments of despair we can rise to be the heroes， the partisans， the saviors， the better ones。The writing is light and easy to follow and yet very complex in the images it creates and the way it makes you feel when you are with all these characters。 I co The world is a frightening place， hopeless and painful， with a lot of human suffering。There is however a lot of beauty around and especially in a human heart。 This book shows us exactly that: each one of us carries the weight of the world， but in moments of despair we can rise to be the heroes， the partisans， the saviors， the better ones。The writing is light and easy to follow and yet very complex in the images it creates and the way it makes you feel when you are with all these characters。 I could not stop reading and yet I did not want to reach the end too soon， it’s one of those stories where you know that you will miss terribly these characters in the end。 And right now I actually do … 。。。more
Theresa Gonzales Cooper
，
“The brain is locked in total darkness of course， children， says the voice。 It floats in a clear liquid inside the skull， never in the light。 And yet the world it constructs in the mind is full of light。 It brims with color and movement。 So， how， children， does the brain， which lives without a spark of light， build for us a world full of light？” What a masterpiece。 I borrowed this book from a friend that said I must read it。 I told her that I was scared to read it because I didn’t want it to rep “The brain is locked in total darkness of course， children， says the voice。 It floats in a clear liquid inside the skull， never in the light。 And yet the world it constructs in the mind is full of light。 It brims with color and movement。 So， how， children， does the brain， which lives without a spark of light， build for us a world full of light？” What a masterpiece。 I borrowed this book from a friend that said I must read it。 I told her that I was scared to read it because I didn’t want it to replace The Book Thief （my all-time favorite）。 She said why can’t I have two favorites？ Well she was right。 This book is beautiful。 The prose took my breath away。 I read many pages twice because I couldn’t get over the beauty of the writing。 The characters took me a while to love， mostly because of the format book。 You only get a few pages with the characters and then it switches perspectives and/or timelines。 You have to be patient。 It’s a very slow burning story。 It was hard to read at times， it’s heartbreaking。 Once the story starts weaving together it was magical。 It was such a well crafted story。 So much thought and love went into these characters and story。 I seriously want to go to France and walk the streets that Marie-Laure walked every day。 So glad I finally read this book。 If I had a copy， it would be sitting on my favorite’s shelf right next to The Book Thief。 。。。more
TessaChandler
，
I was told I was going to cry and I didn’t which was a little disappointing。 I absolutely loved the writing in this book。 The characters are super easy to fall in love with。 It was really hard for me to get started into this book， but that’s really my only complaint。 I highly recommend！！
neda
，