One of the most acclaimed and bestselling books of 2014. An epic novel set during WW2, from the prize-winner Anthony Doerr.
When Marie Laure goes blind, aged six, her father builds her a model of their Paris neighborhood, so she can memorize it with her fingers and then navigate the real streets. But when the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, is enchanted by a crude radio. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent ultimately makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.
Ten years in the writing, ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE is his most ambitious and dazzling work.
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All the Light We Cannot See is a beautiful examination of loss, change and resilience. Told through two parallel stories and a fragmented timeline, Doerr interweaves the lives of two unlikely individuals during the lead up to World War II - Werner Pfennig, an orphan boy in Germany, and Marie-Laure Leblanc, a blind girl living in Paris with her father. Doer paints a picture with every sentence, illustrating every character with so much depth and richness - I couldn’t put the book down. Littered with classic references to literature like Jules Verne’s ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’, this story is a love letter to books, the ocean, to losing yourself and finding your way... and genuine human connection. - Sophia (QBD)
Guest, 16/11/2020
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Being set in the build-up to and the reign of the Nazis, Marie-Laure doesn't understand why she and her father have to flee Paris, carrying with them a valuable jewel from the museum. In the meantime, orphan Werner cares for his younger sister and becomes fascinated at fixing a radio, which leads him down a path of becoming enlisted as a Hitler Youth, attemptiont to tune into and track down what he knows as the resistance. The stories of Marie-Laure and Werner become interwoven, shedding light on how 'fighting the enemy' isn't the only solution, as these stories cross paths as people trying to help one another in a time of need. - Carmen (QBD)
Guest, 06/02/2020
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'The Sunday Girl' is a novel that cuts deep into the truth of the human condition, and will have you by the heart from the first page to the last. Though its plot is fictional, Pip Drysdale's debut masterpiece says more about relationships than any motivational or self-help guru could. If you have ever been lost in love or broken hearted, then this is a book you have to indulge in. - Samuel (QBD)
Guest, 31/08/2018
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'All The Light We Cannot See' follows the lives of two children – blind, French, Marie-Laure, and orphaned German boy, Werner on their paths as they struggle to survive the war they are growing up in until a string of events lead their paths to collide. Doerr writes a beautiful prose, rich with imagery. It's a novel you won't want to put down, but be sure to read slow and soak up every last word. Winner of the Fiction Pulitzer Prize in 2015, this book is well-deserving to be on the top of your "to-read” list. - Kirsty (QBD)
Guest, 22/03/2017
Illuminating
"Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever"
This book is without a doubt one of the most illuminating and moving novels I have ever read. Following the interconnected stories of blind Parisian teenager Marie Laure and Hitler youth orphan Werner Pfennig, Doerr has constructed a stunning tale that highlights the trageddy of war, the power of family and the ferocity of the human spirit. This book is perfect for fans of The Book Thief - a testament to the heart-wrenching, inspiring and often untold stories that emerge from some of the world's worst disasters. - Jess
Strathpine, 05/07/2016
Fall in love with reading all over again!
Filled with love, betrayal, fear and an unmistakable determination to survive the war, Doerr's book is certain to become your new favourite story.
This book is told from two different perspectives � fifteen year old German orphan turned soldier , Werner, and a brave, yet blind, young Parisian, Marie Laure. At its simplest, this book is a story of two young, innocent souls trying to survive and fight in a war which is not theirs.
Doerr shows us scenes of unimaginable desperation and lost childhoods, as he reminds us of the importance of family, and how even the most evil of people fear death.
'All the Light We Cannot See' is a book that will remain with you long after you finish the last page. Doerr's work casts a long, dark shadow over 'The Book Thief'. I wish every book was as enjoyable and addictive as this one!
It will definitely make you fall in love with reading again!
- Jacqueline, QBD Epping
Epping, 01/02/2016
