All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
All The Lights We Cannot See is not a war love story. This is a story of a war between good and bad, entitlement, abomination, and obedience.
Blindness caught a young girl at a very young age. At the beginning of the great war, Marie-Laure and her father leave their beloved Paris behind in hopes to escape the brutality of the war and spend time in the scenic Saint-Malo, the hometown of her father. However, history repeats itself, and the war separates young Marie-Laure and her father. But her sight condition and her great uncle’s fear of the outside world do not stop the duo from joining the resistance.
The love of the radio and any form of wireless equipment has lands a young orphan boy in the Hitler youth program, and eventually into tracing, locating, and destroying the resistance. Although the lessons of racism that young boys were taught in the program didn’t change Werner’s human nature. In a mist of war, it helps him see the difference between the human race and the true enemy.
A Nazi party official Reinhold von Rumpel finds himself at the end of his life sentence. An illness, that cant be cured. But as a gemologist, he learns of the gemstone, located at the Museum of Natural History in Paris that can not only cure his illness but give him a chance to live forever. A myth or a fact? The only way to find out is to locate the gemstone.
The three characters meet at the highest point of the highest house in a beautiful yet half-ruined Saint-Malo.
I’ve waited for a long time to read this novel. Unfortunately, it didn’t stand up to the hype. Great story that shed light on so many characters that lived thru the horrific times, their resistance against bigotry, and their stand for human rights.
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Alina's Reading Corner 
Dear Alina,
we have to admit we found that book rather boring. We know the stories from the people in the resistance from our mother who was quite active there (acting from Stockholm and Zürich). Indeed, the hype was great when this novel came out but when we read it we were so disappointed that we didn’t finish it.
Nevertheless, thanks for sharing your review
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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I absolutely agree with your point of view. And I do understand it’s not about one person and their story, each character in the novel represents multiple individuals during WWII, although the hype of the book was so high – I was expecting stronger plot with greater point. Nevertheless, it was a good story, an easy read. I was glad the author avoided a typical war love story, instead focused on humanity’s side.
Im glad to hear your mother survived the war and lived to tell her story. I am sure it was hard for her to speak of those horrific times.
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Actually, she hardly ever did. She survived in Sweden. She sometimes met her friend in Iowa/USA. She was active in the same group as well.
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I fully understand why she didnt want to talk about it.
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