All the Light We Cannot See

By Anthony Doerr ,

Book cover of All the Light We Cannot See

Book description

WINNER OF THE 2015 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR FICTION

A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation…

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Why read it?

49 authors picked All the Light We Cannot See as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

What an utterly charming book. It's written beautifully, has characters I cared for, and was literary while still being easy to digest and understand. It often delves into the brutality of war but the chapters are so short that you're in the darkness for a brief time before taking a breather. I enjoyed it immensely.

Have you ever read a book that grabbed you with a character challenged by circumstances you’d never considered? Imagine being blind and trying to survive WWII! I was intrigued by this essentially two-person novel set during World War II, which had a ‘cast’ of millions.

Again, the characters! Marie-Laure LaBlanc is a young blind French woman hiding in her great-uncle’s house in Saint-Malo after the Nazis invade Paris. I found Doerr’s lyrical sensory descriptions of Marie-Laure’s efforts to make her way around town as she’s pulled into the French resistance thrilling. I loved the depth of characterization when I met…

This novel took my breath away. The power of this novel is in the descriptive details and the fresh perspective on WWII. I adore a book that brings a global story down to the intricate details of the humans involved, their relationships, and, in particular, how people seemingly on opposite sides of violence are only love-seeking humans when all is said and done. The resilience of the characters, especially the young woman named Marie-Laure, who is blind, is truly inspiring. It's a reminder of the strength we all possess, even in the most challenging circumstances.

As with my other favorite…

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Book cover of Love and War in the Jewish Quarter

Love and War in the Jewish Quarter by Dora Levy Mossanen,

A breathtaking journey across Iran where war and superstition, jealousy and betrayal, and passion and loyalty rage behind the impenetrable walls of mansions and the crumbling houses of the Jewish Quarter.

Against the tumultuous background of World War II, Dr. Yaran will find himself caught in the thrall of the…

This is the most beautifully written and moving book I have ever read. It is scrupulously researched. It doesn't shy away form the horror of war and what happens to humans when they turn into monsters. Some hold onto their humanity which is waht makes this book so very precious.

At first the writing style put me off but then very quickly I was being pulled along by the story and became completely immersed in it. This is the first book by Anthony Doerr that I have read.

The thought of walking around an occupied town in France during WWII terrifies me. The prospect of running into Nazis, looking for any excuse to arrest me, is the thing of nightmares.

But my fears shrink to nothing compared to the experience of blind sixteen-year-old Marie-Laure attempting to navigate war-torn Saint-Malo from the memory of a handmade tabletop model. The strength of courage she shows in this story has never left me.

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Book cover of No, You're Crazy

No, You're Crazy by Jeff Beamish,

When sixteen-year-old Ashlee Sutton's home life falls apart, she is beset by a rare mental illness that makes her believe she's clairvoyant. While most people scoff at her, she begins demonstrating an uncanny knack for sometimes predicting the future, using what could either be pure luck or something more remarkable.…

I loved this book mainly for its characters but also for the way that the story portrayed historical events from both sides of the conflict and the effect of war on people and their beliefs. The relationship between the caring father and blind daughter brought tears to my eyes, and his use of models to help her understand her neighborhood was inspired.

As the former curator of gemstones at the Natural History Museum in London, the story about a lost, missing or fake diamond from the Paris Museum of Natural History was captivating. Months after finishing the book, I still…

I love well-researched fiction that reads like history. I love this book enough that I’ve read it twice. I keep it in a special section of my library reserved for books that I will never give away or loan to friends for fear of never getting them back.

I love that this book inspires me to write fiction, something I ought to get cracking on now that I’ve written almost thirty history books. I love the characters, I love that I can’t put them down (even when I know what is next), and I love revisiting my time with the…

This book, with its prose as poetry, made me want to read it again the minute I finished. To absorb Mr. Doerr’s majestic words was to be transformed into a little blind girl with the heart of a lion, the wit of a comic, the determination of a world leader. I became Marie-Laure LeBlanc and felt all the while sublimely grateful that I could see. And then I met Werner Flemming and wept for him. I understood him. I was deeply moved by him. 

I felt it was profoundly destined that these two should meet and fall in love, but…

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Book cover of We Are Made

We Are Made by John Ludlam,

You’re grieving, you’re falling in love and you’re skint. On top of it all, Europe’s going to Hell in a handcart. Things can’t get any worse, can they?

London, 1938. William is grieving over his former teacher and mentor, killed fighting for the Republicans in Spain. As Europe slides towards…

This book has everything I look for in great storytelling in spades: real people doing their best to cope with extraordinary circumstances, masterfully crafted by an author who loves his work.

Some will call this a historical novel; some will pigeonhole it as a war novel. In my view, it easily exceeds all such classifications. It is an incredible piece of work. I use this book for reference, to remind me how it’s done. 

From Michael's list on brilliant genre defying storytelling.

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Book cover of Love and War in the Jewish Quarter

Love and War in the Jewish Quarter by Dora Levy Mossanen,

A breathtaking journey across Iran where war and superstition, jealousy and betrayal, and passion and loyalty rage behind the impenetrable walls of mansions and the crumbling houses of the Jewish Quarter.

Against the tumultuous background of World War II, Dr. Yaran will find himself caught in the thrall of the…

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