Title: All the Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
Narrator: Zach Appelman
ISBN: 9781442369375
Audiobook Length: 16 hours, 2 minutes
Genre: Historical Fiction
Origins: Mine. All mine.
Release Date: 6 May 2014
Synopsis:
“Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.
In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.”
Thoughts on the Novel: The historical details within All the Light We Cannot See are stunning in their exactness and the care with which Mr. Doerr uses them within his story. One could use the story in place of a map of Paris’ Fifth Arrondissement or the streets of Saint Malo because they are so meticulously described and precise. Similarly, Mr. Doerr develops his characters so carefully and thoroughly that readers internalize their emotions. The growing mental trauma within Werner and Marie-Laure’s increased fears are particularly potent as the story progresses even though these changes occur slowly. However, this care and attention to detail makes the entire cast so realistic. Of greatest importance though is the fact that Mr. Doerr is mindful not to make this a story a condemnation of one side or the other. All of the characters, no matter how important or minor, are just victims of the circumstances and times in which they live.
In All the Light We Cannot See, Mr. Doerr takes his time telling Marie-Laure’s and Werner’s stories. They unfold slowly and methodically, carefully building setting, mood, and tone to weave the story around readers and fully ensnare them into its drama and tension, something he achieves with aplomb. Marie-Laure and Werner are two unfortunate souls who are tested and forged in the heat of war. Theirs is a powerful story in which the lines of right and wrong, guilt and innocence blur as readers get to know and understand them. All the Light We Cannot See is a story of perseverance, innocence lost, strengths found, and truths discovered. It leaves readers contemplative as to the intricacies and damage to mind, body, and soul war wreaks on people. More importantly, it leaves readers hopeful that even in the very worst of times, humanity’s innate goodness can and will prevail.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: Zach Appelman does a fantastic job narrating this powerful novel. His performance is very subtle but highly effective. He mimics the meticulous pacing of the story with his deliberate pronunciations. At no point in time is the speed of his narration an issue because the story is so engrossing and well-told that one wants to draw it out as long as possible. Similarly, his voices are equally subtle but engaging, as he employs only the slightest of changes to timbre and pitch to achieve the desired change in gender and age of characters. He does so in such a way that each voice is unique without being exaggeratedly different or distracting. Mr. Appelman’s performance as narrator serves to highlight the spectacular story-telling within the novel and provides another layer of entertainment and enjoyment for the listener.
BOTTOM LINE: An absolutely outstanding story of two sides of the same war and the ties that bind people together.
