All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Let me begin by stating that this book was very deserving of the Pulitzer Prize.  To say that this book was remarkable would be an understatement.

The setting is war-torn France and Germany during the second World War.  The main characters are Werner, a young German boy with an extraordinary aptitude for mechanics and Marie-Laure, a young French girl who is blind.

The book vasillates between the years 1941 and 1944.  It also brings us back and forth to each character as time progresses. It was very exciting to anticpate how the author would bring these two characters together.

The writing in this novel is exquisite.  His descriptions of the surroundings of each character were so believable it was as if the reader is a fly on the wall, listening to all that is happening.  The author entertains all the emotions that come when one is engaged in a conflict and he does it very well.

As the story comes to a crescendo, the reader is so aware of the sacrifices that each character has made.  Even more profound is the awareness that in spite of the darkness that surrounds conflict, there is a light that pervades this darkness although we cannot see it.  Werner and Marie-Laure are that light in this story.

Recommended to me by a friend, I heartily recommend it to you.  Thank you Mr. Doerr for your elegant writing and for a beautifully told story.

Ladybookbug!