All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Marie-Laure is a blind girl who flees from Paris with her father when the Nazis take over the city. They end up in San Malo living with the father's uncle, who is still suffering the effects of WWI. The father may or may not be in possession of a valuable (but cursed) diamond that the museum he worked for had in its collection. (Several copies--and the real gem--were sent off for safekeeping with trusted employees. But no one knows which one has the real diamond.) A German soldier tasked with gathering the art treasures of Europe for the Nazis hears about the diamond and has made it his mission in life to track it down.
At the same time, a young German orphan named Werner is living in a children's home with his sister. Werner is fascinated by how things work and when he finds a broken radio, he figures out how to make it work--which opens up a whole world to him. He wants to go to Berlin to become an engineer but the war intervenes and he finds himself working as a radio man for the German army.
The parallel stories of Werner and Marie-Laure before and during the war make up the bulk of All The Light. Eventually their paths cross, which changes both of their lives.
In addition to being a good story with characters you really care about, All The Light We Cannot See is beautifully written. We "see" Paris and San Malo through the very independent Marie-Laure, who navigates by sounds and smells and memorizing the number of steps to get from Point A to Point B. And we see the effects of war on our young dreamer Werner.
It's one of those books that you're sorry to see come to an end.
At the same time, a young German orphan named Werner is living in a children's home with his sister. Werner is fascinated by how things work and when he finds a broken radio, he figures out how to make it work--which opens up a whole world to him. He wants to go to Berlin to become an engineer but the war intervenes and he finds himself working as a radio man for the German army.
The parallel stories of Werner and Marie-Laure before and during the war make up the bulk of All The Light. Eventually their paths cross, which changes both of their lives.
In addition to being a good story with characters you really care about, All The Light We Cannot See is beautifully written. We "see" Paris and San Malo through the very independent Marie-Laure, who navigates by sounds and smells and memorizing the number of steps to get from Point A to Point B. And we see the effects of war on our young dreamer Werner.
It's one of those books that you're sorry to see come to an end.
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