All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer // Book Review 2018

At dusk they pour from the sky. They blow across the ramparts , turn cartwheels over rooftops, flutter into the ravines between houses. Entire streets swirl with the, flashing white against the cobbles. 'Urgent message to the inhabitants of this town', they say. 'Depart immediately to open country'. 

All The Light We Cannot See // I enjoyed this book from the get-go. Partially because I picked it up in my local charity shop for £1 when it's still retailing in the shops for £8.99 (who doesn't love a bargain?!). All jokes aside, this is a lovely book which I'm glad I decided to buy. I had recently finished reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (read my review here) and wasn't sure if I was ready for another lengthy, Pulitzer Prize winning book - sometimes it's nice to read something lightweight and easy - but being the lover of challenges that I am, I decided to dive head first into another lengthy read.

Where to start? Well, firstly, I loved the characters in this book. Marie Laure is the sweetest little girl who faces hardship so early in life, when at age 6, she becomes blind. You really feel for her struggle and you read on, anxious to see what happens in her life. There are so many points in the book you realise how hard it must be to be blind, particularly in a time of war. Throughout the entire book, I rooted for Marie Laure and her turbulent experience growing up in a time of hardship. 

This book is unique. It's split in two halves, following the lives of two main individuals: Marie Laure and a german boy called Werner. Although I enjoyed following Marie Laure's story more, it was still interesting to read about Werner's point of view. He is a child genius living in an orphanage, who's incredible mathematical mind is discovered by the Nazi's - he is quickly whisked away to a Hitler Youth training facility where he begins helping the German intelligence during the war. The book follows both narratives until they meet. I don't want to give any spoilers but the ending is quite realistic of war and not a particularly happy one. It's beautifully written though and, again, like most the books I review, I would thoroughly recommend it. It won the Pulitzer Prize for obvious reasons and the unique plot and character layout make for an enjoyable read. 

More soon,

Helen

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