Doerr felt the man was unappreciative of the 'miracle' of being able to communicate across long distances. The story has moral themes such as the dangers of possession and the nature of sacrifice, and portrays fascination with science and nature.ĭoerr's first inspiration came from a 2004 train ride, during which he watched a man become angry because his telephone call cut out. The narrative has a nonlinear structure, flashing between the Battle of Saint-Malo and the events leading up to it. The novel is written in a poetic style, and almost all of the chapters alternate between Marie-Laure's story and Werner's story, both of which parallel each other. The novel is set during World War II and centers around the characters Marie-Laure Leblanc, a blind French girl who takes refuge in her uncle's house in Saint-Malo after Paris is invaded by Nazi Germany, and Werner Pfennig, a bright German boy who is accepted into a military school because of his skills in radio technology, before being sent to the military. Strong recommendation for this book.Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in FictionĪll the Light We Cannot See is a 2014 war novel by American author Anthony Doerr. How our lives can and do touch each other in ways we may never fully appreciate but are critical no less. 'No Man is an Island' rang loud and clear from this book. Seeing the world unfold though her blind eyes was enlightening. I can understand the passion for this book. It’s not a new subject, but it reads like one: life. The smallest spark of humanity, a fleeting connection across borders, the apocalyptic devastation of war in the vastness of time, they almost disappear, but they all matter. You want to savor every sentence, every image, but the pages fly anyway as the novel follows their paths to Saint-Malo, a walled city on the coast of France under siege at the end of the war. Werner’s fascination with radios, and his fear of the mines that killed his father, make him a valuable soldier for the Reich. When Marie Laure and her father flee Paris, they may be carrying one of France’s greatest treasures (and curses).

Two teenagers – a blind girl in Paris, an orphan boy in Germany – are coming-of-age with the coming of war. All the Light We Cannot See is a gorgeously written novel about beauty, love, courage, and history.

All the light you cannot see book