“All The Light We Cannot See” Book Review

I actually listened to All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr as an audio book during several long drives this summer and early fall. I have to say it was hands down the best book I read (or listened to) in 2021. The story follows multiple narrative threads during World War II in France. One of the primary characters is a young girl, Marie-Lore, who becomes blind. The story centers on Marie-Lore and her father, a handyman and key holder at a museum in Paris. Her father harbors an important secret. When the Germans invade, they flee to a coastal town to live with Marie-Lore’s eccentric great-uncle. The great uncle is a thread that connects to another character, an orphan boy in a depressed German mining town who has an exceptional aptitude with building radios. There are a number of other character storylines woven into viewing the war from the eyes of these two children who grow into young adults in the crucible of the war.

I don’t think I’ve read another author who brings alive all senses as well as Doerr does in this novel. Perhaps because Marie-Lore is blind, we experience her world through all senses. I felt as if I knew what the air felt like in the coastal town where Marie-Lore is living with her great uncle. The novel was very immersive and I felt as if I could feel and experience not only the locations, but also the emotions of the characters of this novel. Doerr does a great job of drawing us in to the world of the characters, their motivations, and what they choose to do to survive in the most extreme circumstances. In this way, Doerr reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Edith Wharton. The way in which he captures the interior life as well as how a person appears and interacts with the exterior world reminds me of Wharton’s writing.

This is one of those books that has a hold on you after you finish in the best way. Doerr is a brilliant writer. I have purchased a copy of his new book Cloud Cuckoo Land. It is the book I’m most excited about diving into in 2022.

If you are looking for a good book, I highly recommend All The Light We Cannot See and if you’re book shopping, my hometown independent bookstore, Powell’s, is a great place to shop.