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Overview
Overview
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious 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 with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. 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, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure's converge. Doerr's "stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors" (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. 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).
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious 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 with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. 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, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure's converge. Doerr's "stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors" (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. 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).
- Format: Hardcover
- Author: Doerr, Anthony
- ISBN: 9781476746586
- Condition: Used
- Dimensions: 9.25 x 1.70
- Number Of Pages: 544
- Publication Year: 2014
Blind to the world while reading this book
This is a story of love, loss and the horrors of war that will captivate any reader and will not let them go until they have finished the very last page.
Sara C.
HPB Staff
Customer Reviews
Rating Snapshot
5 ★
71%
4 ★
19%
3 ★
0%
2 ★
5%
1 ★
5%
21 Ratings
0
0% Would Recommend
0 Recommendations
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Couldn't put it down
Jamie A. - 2 years 5 months agoI picked up this book because so many people were talking about how amazing it was -- and I was certainly not disappointed. The book is told from alternating views - the chapters are short so the story moves along quickly. The characters are fantastic and even at the end, I still wasn't ready for their stories to be over. The writing is beautiful - brilliant and lyrical. This isn't the kind of book you pick up for a quick beach read. It's more intense and demands your attention. You'll want to wrap yourself up in each sentence and let the words sink in.
HPB Staff Review -
My favorite book of 2014
Lee C. - 3 years 1 month agoAnthony Doerr's "All the Light We Cannot See" was easily the best book I read in 2014. It tells the story of two young people in Europe before and during WWII. Marie-Laure is a 12 year old blind girl forced to flee Paris with her Uncle when the Germans invade. Werner is an orphan living in a small German town who is able to use his expertise in electronics to get away from the mines and into the Army. Doerr shows us what they have to go through to survive and keep their secrets in a war torn Europe. Eventually their lives come together in a thrilling climax that changes them both. This is one of those great books that leave you totally fulfilled but somewhat devastated. Marie-Laure and Werner stayed in my thoughts for quite awhile after I finished reading their story.
HPB Staff Review -
Way to slow for me
Joan F. - 3 years 8 months agoI could not get past the first 100 pages. It was so slow, it dragged on and on. I mentioned to my brother that I couldn’t finish a book and told him the title. He said “Oh my god, someone gave me that book, after 100 pages I couldn’t care less about those 2 kids.” We both love to read, and always have piles of book to read. This one was a downer, a slow downer. I read the last chapter, still a downer that dragged.
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Magnificent, original, enduring.
Mary C. - 4 years 5 months agoOne of the most moving, interesting stories of the was. The plot is unique, fresh and full of fascinating information. You can't put it down.
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Wonderful read
JUDY L. - 4 years 6 months agoWonderful read, one of the best I have read in some time.