All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: A Beautiful and Hopeful World War II Novel

If you are looking for an All the Light We Cannot See review before deciding whether to read the book or watch the Netflix limited series, my short answer is yes, this one is absolutely worth your time. Even as someone who rarely reaches for historical fiction, I ended up loving this novel for its emotional depth, memorable characters, and the way it balances heartbreak with hope.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is a Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II novel that follows Marie-Laure and Werner as their lives slowly move toward each other against the backdrop of occupied France. For me, this book worked not just as historical fiction, but also as a character-driven story with mystery, atmosphere, and a surprising amount of warmth.

My genre of choice is hardly ever historical fiction, so when this book came across my radar when it won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015, I thought, “OK, I’m sure it’s a good book, but probably not for me.” However, almost ten years later, it kept coming back to me with recommendations from all sorts of people, and the fact that it has also been turned into a Netflix limited series made me even more curious to finally give it a try. I was not disappointed.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr tells the story of two young people during World War II: Marie-Laure, a blind French girl who is being raised by her father in Paris, and a young German boy, Werner, who is an orphan living in a coal mining town. Soon the Nazis begin to occupy Paris, and Marie-Laure and her father must flee their home and her father’s job at the Museum. They end up in Saint-Malo, where her great-uncle has a home near the sea, and in tow with them may or may not have been an expensive and rare treasure. Werner has a fascination with radios. He has access to one in the orphanage where he is living and is able to use it to hear the world outside of his current circumstances. He quickly discovers that he is good with radios, which allows him to escape work in the coal mines, only to face a different but equally unfortunate fate working with the German army to track down the resistance using his radio skills.

What Worked for Me

This book was so much more than just a historical fiction novel about World War II or a coming-of-age story of two young people living through this horrible time in history; it also read like a mystery or a literary fiction novel. Doerr does an amazing job of keeping the plot moving along swiftly in his 530-page novel. There are several twists and turns which eventually lead to Marie-Laure and Werner’s paths crossing in Saint-Malo.

I thought the book was beautifully written, with long, flowing descriptions that developed strong characters as well as created a sense of wonder in the settings throughout the book. Although the subject matter of this time in history is so depressing, I thought Doerr did a great job of building hope and love into his writing in a way that did not seem contrived.

Final Thoughts

The relationship between Marie-Laure and her father is one of my favorite parts of the book, the way her father does so much to help her see the world through his creation of the miniature Paris, or his instilling the love of reading in her with the Braille book he is able to provide her. These two characters, as well as many others in the book, do a great job of showing that, in the face of all the terrible things going on in the world, there is still hope and love.

I would say, even if you are not a historical fiction fan, give All the Light We Cannot See a try. It is in my top 5 books I have ever read. I think this book is so much more than a World War II story; it’s about connection and love and family and looking out for others in spite of it all.

If you want to pick up a copy, you can find All the Light We Cannot See here: Buy on Amazon.