Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - All the Light We Cannot See

Really a beautiful book. I read it right after Demon Copperhead (also an excellent book) which felt to be largely about the ways that adults can be cruel to children. There are cruel characters and dark parts of All The Light We Cannot See, but the kindness and nobility of the characters really shines through. Emotional, gripping, sad, beautiful, and incredibly hopeful.

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enchantingreads_rosyreviews's review

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3.75

"You know the greatest lesson of history? It's that history is whatever the victors say it is. That's the lesson. Whoever wins, that's who decides the history. We act in our own self interest. Of course we do. Name a person or a nation who does not. The trick is figuring out where your interests are."

📻
Reasons why this book is great:

Every sentence and paragraph paints a vivid picture in your head; almost as if creating a world for someone who is unable to physically see it (like the main character, Marie-Laure).
Definition of a beautifully tragic tale. The author doesn’t shy away from the dark side of war or survival during occupation, but also describes the world to remind us to cherish every day.
Written as an epic tale, with high-stakes, action, character growth, and drama.
For anyone who’s a fan of independent films or typical Oscar-nominated films, this story taps into that same general vibe.

Whew! This book is one of those that feeds and starves your soul. It's a hard read because it focuses on tragedy (WW2) and the tough choices regular people have to make in times of extreme circumstances. Although the Netflix series did an AMAZING job adapting this book, there is SO. MUCH. MORE. to absorb from the book. Doerr's descriptive language, epic scenery, unique world-view, and likeable characters are truly something to experience.

Also, this was my first book that I used an audio guide to follow along. Honestly, because of the book's epic-ness, I found myself getting lost in the words/descriptions. Having the audiobook companion to keep me on track with my paperback version, was a great help to stay grounded in the story.

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sappypatheticm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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77mimi's review

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tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

first and foremost, this book made me cry on the train — i cried the entire way through reading part ten until the end, throat closed up, chest pains and silent tears rolling down my face.

Doerr has such a way of writing things so beautifully yet so painfully, and although, because of the slice-of-life aspect of the book, the story moved slowly at times, he made up for it with such exquisite writing; the only reason this book lost one star was because of the slow pace. [and also slightly because of the weird side story about the stone]

“What the war did to dreamers”

((so many lines in this book made me tear up))

I mourn for Frederick, whose mind and soul were so much kinder than the war required; I mourn for Madame Manec who started dreaming again despite her age; I mourn for childhood the children were deprived of – Marie-Laure, Werner, Jutta, Frederick, Volkheimer, etc.; I mourn for the person Werner may have become had he not been born in an era with war.

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