The female protagonist of All the Light We Cannot See is Marie Laure, a blind girl, who lives with her father, the locksmith of the Museum of Natural History in Paris. The male protagonist is Werner Pfennig an orphan who grows up in Zollverein, Germany. A lot happens before these two characters meet, but they meet like Romeo and Juliet for a very short time to find out about the synchronistic ties that bind them despite the fact that they belong to the two opposing sides during the World War II. To say more about the plot would be offering too much information.

What was exquisite about this novel is its characters first, then its tension and suspense. I found every character to be superbly developed and presented. The Romeo and Juliet resemblance, however, is the least striking factor. Each scene with its settings, dialogues, and its integral ties to every other thing in the novel is spectacular. The storyline is complex with an abundance of well-drawn characters, each deserving their own remarkable stories. The story is told in the present tense with poetic prose, flashbacks, and by going back and forth in time.

Speaking for myself, usually, I have no problem with flashback chapters, but because of the far too much of going back and forth in time during the storytelling, I felt the pacing had suffered a bit here, and there were times when my emotional involvement with the story was interrupted. I understand that going back and forth is advised by the writing teachers in our time for vibrancy and attention-getting, but too much of anything feels just too much. Yet, the story is so mighty, expansive, and amazing that this little stumble (in my point of view) can be easily looked over.

In short, it is no wonder that, in 2015, this novel won the Pulitzer Prize. It deserved it and then some.

its characters and plot building. One can learn from reading it.

its spectacular prose and profound character development.

constant hopping back and forth in time.

Anthony Doerr who also wrote Grace, Memory Wall, The Shell Collector, and a memoir, Four Seasons in Rome. He has won many prizes in the United States and overseas, O. Henry Prizes, three Pushcart Prizes, the Rome Prize, the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, the National Magazine Award for fiction, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Story Prize.
The author lives in Boise, Idaho with his family.

it is a fantastic book with historical background and strikingly human characters despite their troubled pasts or actions.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel   from Amazon.Com!

Created Mar 30, 2017 at 3:50pm • Submit your own review...