All The Light We Cannot See
Genre: Historical Fiction | Author: Anthony Doerr (May 6, 2014) | Running Time:16h 2m | Narrator: Zach Appleman
The last post The Henna Artist was about my first ever audibook. This post is about the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner – All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
Narrated by Zach Appleman, this book has been earning praises for its exquiste writing, brilliant story , vivid imagery and perfect narration.
The last time I checked it had whopping 64k reviews on audible and over 108,205 reviews on goodreads and counting.
The Series
Yes, Netflix released a mini drama series by the same name in Novemember 2023. As adaptations usually go, the series has tried to condense the entire book into 4 long parts, skipping over some very cruical details that make this book a Pultizer winner.
So when I finally started the book after having watched the series (a big mistake), I felt lost. In my opinion it was a poor adapation of a rather brilliant story.
Visually, it is brilliant. The character that threw me off most in the series was that of uncle Etienne . There is so much more to him than what has been depicted in the series. I was so disappointed to realize that real hero Madme Manec has been reduced to few scenes in the series.
Ok, I will stop now.
Read the Book, Watch the Series. In that order.
The Book – Synopsis
Set in World War II this historical fiction is a story of Marie-Laure, a French blind girl, and Werner Pfennig, a German boy living in an orphanage who has an aptitude for fixing things and most importantly raido. This is a story of a childhood interrupted.
As the war progresses , Marie-Laure flees Paris with her father when the Nazis invade France. They finally take refuge with her traumatized uncle Etienne in in the remote city of St Malo, France.
Werner meanwhile goes on to become a radio expert with the German army.
Set in the years leading up to and during WWII, these two characters are influenced by the great conflict, but are not defined by it. The story travels back and forth from their childhood to the present.
Ultimately, the stories of Marie-Laure and Werner converge in Saint-Malo, as that last strong-hold of the German’s in France is overtaken by the Allies.
My Take On it..
With 64k reviews, this book does not need yet another review.Yet, it is a post on book review, so I am going to add my personal two bits.
All The Light We Cannot See is about light, and so, inevitably, it is also about the darkness.
There are poignant moments and moments that made me smile. The story is told in 178 short chapters that mostly alternates between Werner and Marie-Laure. Just when it feels long and repetitive ,the author reels you right back in with his vivid imagery of the war days.
The novel is a visual delight which is an especially brilliant achievement when you consider he’s often writing about blindness.
if you are anything like me, I would highly recommend going the audio book way for this book for two reasons: – One, it has 178 chapters, that is a lot of reading! Two, the story is set in France, the author does not shy away from using French words. Listening to it in French accent hits differently than when you are trying to read it yourself!
I took 5 weeks to finish this book. And as always, it accompained me on my drives to the school, and so my daughters listened in during those drives.
Interestingly, they were more invested in the story than I was😄. Asking me details about the characters and how did the last chapter end?! The older one, V who is a lectiophile ( a deep lover of reading books), insisted that I play the audiobook every time she was in the car with me .
Perhaps, that is why this book will be special to me ❤️. I would any day love to have a conversation about books ! And they do make a good ice breaker. Don’t you think?
This book is not for beginners, the short chapters make the story digestable however the switch between the past and the present can confuse you, and there is no denying that it drags at parts. However, if you want a challenge, then perhaps this is a right book for you.
Next up is the long list of thrillers…. see you soon with a review on Behind The Closed Doors!
And as always here is a very famous quote from the book just for you! Happy reading.
“Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.”
All The Light We Cannot See