All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is a novel set in WWII, at the time Nazi Germany invaded and captured Paris, France. The story follows two main characters: Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfenning, as they navigate war-torn France. When they were children, they listened to the same radio station about science and thinking. The two characters briefly cross paths, but after their first encounter, never see each other again. The book has 531 pages and is broken into multiple points of view and periods of time.
Marie was very resilient and “she didn’t see her blindness as a disability, but as an extra ability,” said Caroline Menna (11).
After fleeing Paris with her father, Marie lives at her great uncle’s house in Saint-Malo, Brittany, France on the English Channel. Marie, blind from birth, was helped from an early age by her father to navigate her surroundings, whether in Paris or Saint-Malo. One of the ways he helped her was a perfect mini replica of Paris (and later Saint-Malo) so that she could explore with her hands and become familiar with the streets and buildings. Her memorization of the streets and buildings becomes important after her father goes missing and she must get her own food and supplies.Rubble and debris from the American bombs make the task of fending for herself even more difficult. Marie was very resilient and “she didn’t see her blindness as a disability, but as an extra ability,” said Caroline Menna (11).
Werner grew up in an orphanage with his sister in rural Germany. He taught himself how to build and fix radios, him getting recruited to an elite nazi school. Werner did not agree with the nazi ideals but s forced to use his radio skills to help them. In the process, he led the nazis to multiple hidden Jewish families and people who were resisting nazi Germany Werner fails to protect people around him, but -Laure from the nazis. Once his commanding officer found out about Marie, Werner was forced to lead him to Marie’s house. Werner then stopped the commanding officer from reaching her, saving her life.
When Marie moved into her great uncle’s house, discovered he was the broadcaster who she listened to as a child. She starts broadcasting from the same radio, n the same station. During the war, her uncle told her what pages to read in a book, and she would broadcast herself reading them. This broadcast helps send codes to the resistance. Wthis, he does not report her because he knows she would be killed by the Nazis. Instead, he secretly tracks them because he wants to meet the person who shaped his childhood. “My favorite part was how everything came together in the end (and) how it all morphed into one (story line) at the [end],” said Menna
All the Light We Cannot See is an amazing book with many complex themes, subjects, and characters. Anthony Doerr takes his readers on an emotional rollercoaster. When you are reading his novel, you can clearly see the characters and setting due to his descriptive and precise writing style. He has written six books and has won multiple prizes for his writing. All the Light We Cannot See won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was a New York Times Best Sellers list for almost four years. It also won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
The book was recently made into a Netflix show, although I recommend reading the novel first. The show was visually pleasing. It had most of the main plot points as the book, but it did not go into as much detail. There were a couple major details left out of the show. For example, in the book, Werner had a friend in the nazi academy who ended up shaping how he feels and leading him on the right path. His friend’s name was Fredrik, and while at the school, he was beaten so badly that he had to return home and be taken care of by his parents for the rest of his life.
Another detail that was not included from the novel was the death of Werner. In the show viewers are led to believe that Werner and Marie could meet again and have a life together. The novel brings Werner’s life to an end in a tragic sad way and then continues to talk about his sister’s experiences during and after the war and Marie’s life beyond the war.
Overall, the book is more detailed and emotionally engaging than the show. The show leaves out vital details and does not include important characters. If you want to watch the show, I recommend that you read the book first so that you do not spoil it for yourself.
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