In 'All the Light We Cannot See,' Anthony Doerr weaves a poignant tale of two young souls navigating the chaos of World War II. Marie-Laure, a blind French girl, journeys through the shadows of occupied Paris, while Werner, a German soldier with a talent for radio technology, grapples with his moral compass. Their paths intertwine in unexpected ways, revealing the stark contrasts of light and darkness in their lives. This beautifully written novel explores themes of resilience, hope, and the invisible connections between people. As their stories unfold, readers are left questioning how far they would go to find connection in a fractured world.
By Anthony Doerr
Published: 2017
""Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.""
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book, National Book Award finalist, more than two and a half years on the New York Times bestseller list From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the stunningly beautiful instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure's reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum's most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Doerr's "stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors" (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Ten years in the writing, a National Book Award finalist, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer "whose sentences never fail to thrill" (Los Angeles Times).
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“"Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever."”
All the Light We Cannot See
By Anthony Doerr
Discover a world of knowledge through our extensive collection of book summaries.
Anthony Doerr is an acclaimed American author known for his lyrical prose and intricate storytelling. His notable works include 'All the Light We Cannot See,' which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and 'Cloud Cuckoo Land,' a multi-layered narrative that weaves together different timelines and characters. Doerr's writing often explores themes of memory, human connection, and the natural world, characterized by rich, descriptive language and an exploration of the beauty in everyday moments.
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