I’ve owned this book for quite some time, but I kept putting off reading it because there isn’t anything funny or uplifting about World War II (or really any war for that matter), despite Hogan’s Heroes’ best efforts. Much of the time, all I want to read is something easy and cheery. Admittedly, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is neither one of those. Still, it looks at WWII from a slightly different angle. And Doerr’s writing is lovely and it would be worth the read no matter the plot.

The winner of a multitude of prizes, including the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, All the Light We Cannot See tells the story of two young teenagers, one a blind girl living in Paris and the other a young German boy who lives with his sister in an orphanage in a small German town. Doerr tells their individual stories in a typical back-and-forth manner, chapter after chapter. In fact, the two don’t meet until near the end of the book, but nevertheless, they have a profound impact on one another.

Marie-Laurie’s father deeply loves and takes wonderfully good care of his blind daughter. But the German’s occupation of Paris requires they make their way, mostly by foot, to the French town of St. Malo, in northern France near the English Channel, where they stay with her great-uncle, himself severely impacted by his service during WWI.

Werner is an exceptionally bright young man whose intellectual gifts become apparent to the powers that be in Germany. As a result, he wins a place in a particularly brutal segment of the Hitler Youth. At first, he is thrilled with this honor. However, the sensitive young man eventually comes face-to-face with the horrors of Hitler’s Germany.

All the Light We Cannot See provides a fascinating look at something that always puzzled me – what happened when a German recognized the atrocities that were being committed in the 1930s and 40s. Didn’t anyone do or say anything? The answer, of course, is there probably wasn’t a lot a person could do or say.

The book is worth reading for the story itself. But mostly it’s worth reading for Doerr’s lovely writing. His prose is lyrical and his descriptions and metaphors are distinctly enviable to a writer such as me. It was a slow read because the reader doesn’t want to miss a single word. And the brutalities of the war make it difficult at times. Still, All the Light We Cannot See is a book that shouldn’t be missed.

Here is a link to the book.