REVIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE BY ANTHONY DOERR
Content Warning [highlight to read]: Swearing, some graphic imagery, a non-graphic rape scene Abstract: An engaging but also disappointing read. Characters are likable enough, but the story is too long and shifting perspectives in present tense make events a bit hard to follow. By the end, the parts are greater than the sum. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is a beautiful title for a book that doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of that title and the book’s premise. The story follows two scientifically-minded characters, a blind, French girl who loves marine biology named Marie-Laure and a German orphan turned Nazi radio specialist named Werner. It tells of their lives leading up to, during, and after World War II. I can’t say much more without going into the critique, so I will begin with the positives. Anthony Doerr accomplishes what I have seen very few authors do: capture a sense of wonder towards scientific study. ...