“… minds are not to be trusted. Minds are always drifting toward ambiguity, toward questions, when what you really need is certainty. Purpose. Clarity. Do not trust your minds.”
I finished the novel, All the Light We Cannot See in just 6 days! From the start I found the exquisite, lyrical prose as enthralling as the intricately woven storyline, alternating between the past and present lives of the protagonists Marie-Laure Leblanc and Werner Pfennig. Anthony Doerr is an impeccable wordsmith, who relentlessly finds the right words to capture the emotion of every situation. The WWII-focused plot is engrossing, albeit largely predictable. There was scant effort needed to connect the dots in the story, as everything seemed to fit together like one of the intricate scale models made by Marie-Laure’s father. Although I thoroughly enjoyed reading All the Light We Cannot See (and I am keenly looking forward to seeing it brought to life in the upcoming eponymous Netflix series), I was still left with a lingering feeling that I was missing something. A deeper emotional connection to the characters and story that was always almost palpable, yet somehow never arrived. Without a doubt All the Light We Cannot See is an excellent book, certainly among the best I have read this year, however, it is for me (after this first reading) not one of my favorite books of all time. I did not fall in love with this novel. I wonder, will it stand the test of time and become a classic of American Literature?
Have you read All the Light We Cannot See? What are your thougts after reading it? What did you enjoy the most? Thanks as always for stopping by! Please feel free to share your thoughts or reactions in a comment below. Also, if you would like to receive more updates about my writing please consider joining my newsletter mailing list by subscribing below.