All The Light We Cannot See

All The Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr

Started: Monday 20th June 2022

Finished: Saturday 25th June 2022

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In All The Light We Cannot See, we follow Werner and Marie-Laure through their adolescence during the Second World War. I didn’t know what to expect of this book. Through snippets of their lives, we understand what it is to be a teenage in the times of Nazi Germany as Werner spends his time in the Hitler Youth, and Marie-Laurie in Occupied France.

I didn't know what to expect of this book. I hadn't read any synopsis and all I knew was that it was based within the years of 1939-1945. I'd recently finished The Lilac Girls and and sworn myself off of these kinds of books for while; but ATLWCS is rarely available through the Libby app so when I got a notification that my "hold" was ready, it was a now or never.

As you can expect from most books set in these times, there is an element of "unexpected hero". I think it's safe to say that due to the atrocities that were discovered in the years following, the resistance that supported the French and British troops were often no different you and me.

As the housekeeper organises at one point - they must disrupt things as best they could for the Germans. We've seen it most recently through Social Media Reports from Ukraine and the Russian invasion; the moving of signposts is a classic.

My favourite thing about this book was how Doerr was able to create the tension from Marie-Laure's perspective. She is blind; having lost her sight as a child, she navigates Paris, and her new home of Saint-Malo by the patterns they keep. Doerr beautifully uses all other senses to replicate the images we're so used to having laid out for us. The smells and the sounds primarily.

For those of you who like to go down a little Rabbit Hole after your books; more information about the Battle of Saint-Malo can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saint-Malo

All The Light We Cannot See will now join the ranks of The Nightingale, The Alice Network and The Lilac Girls as strong books that capture the terror that would have been felt in those years. Another recommendation would be The Women in The Castle; which offers a perspective from a German civilian, brainwashed by the ideals outlined by Hitler, and the stubbornness that follows.

Comments

Christmas At The Island Hotel - Jenny Colgan

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times - for me, snuggling down with a Jenny Colgan book is like a hug from an old friend. And Christmas At The Island Hotel is no exception. Now, this is part of a series in the way that it follows a family of characters for their fourth installment, however as always, this works perfectly as a standalone book. Fintan, grieving the loss of his partner, has been left to open The Rock - the hotel on the island of Mure. Suddenly, this born and bred farmer needs to source a kitchen team to maintain the legacy of his late partner. And now he has a French chef that no one else wants, working in his kitchen. Konstantin, Norwegian party boy and all round spoilt brat, has been cast out by his Dad and has to learn how to be self sufficient. He finds himself on the remote island of Mure, halfway between Scotland and Norway, with no money, no friends and no idea how to chop an onion, As always, Jenny expertly weaves the lives of the characters togeth

This Time Next Year - Sophie Cousens

I wanted a wholesome New Years based read to finish 2022 with, and This Time Next Year delivered! I originally added this to my list back at the beginning of 2021 and I found it on Apple Books for just £3.99 so decided to go all in. Minnie and Quinn were both born on the 1st January 1990. Born in the same hospital, to strangers, they meet again on the morning of their 30th birthday after an eventful New Years Eve. This book reminded me a lot of One Day - the way the story is laid out - flashbacks to New Years Eves of years gone by, showed where each of the characters were at the varying points of their lives. With interwoven stories throughout the years, the two begin a friendship that neither of them quite have the time or inclination for. This was the perfect cosy read for the end of the year and I sped through it in one evening.

Barbarian Lover - Ruby Dixon

If someone told me 6 months ago that I'd be using Blue Alien smut as a palette cleanser between my books.. I probably would have laughed at them. But that's apparently the BookTok curse. Once again, I found myself diving into the world of Ruby Dixon's sci-fi romance series and this time we were following Kara's story. Once again, this is a FUN series. The format is similar in all of them, so it's not groundbreaking writing or literary fiction but it's good natured, easy to read and there's plenty of big blue alien d*ck.

The Little Library Project

Search This Blog