• All the Light We Cannot See

  • A Novel
  • By: Anthony Doerr
  • Narrated by: Zach Appelman
  • Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (63,772 ratings)

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All the Light We Cannot See  By  cover art

All the Light We Cannot See

By: Anthony Doerr
Narrated by: Zach Appelman
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Publisher's summary

Winner of the 2015 Audie Award for Fiction

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 12, 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.

©2014 Anthony Doerr (P)2014 Simon & Schuster Audio

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What listeners say about All the Light We Cannot See

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    42,408
  • 4 Stars
    14,571
  • 3 Stars
    4,827
  • 2 Stars
    1,259
  • 1 Stars
    707
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    40,758
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    38,068
  • 4 Stars
    12,212
  • 3 Stars
    4,443
  • 2 Stars
    1,301
  • 1 Stars
    672

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The descriptive language used was amazing.

Oh what a journey I've just been on. This book is sweet, raw, touching and real. 10 out of 10!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

It is amazing how resilient the human spirit can be.

Loved the story, wish that there could have been some happier endings for them all.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Don't pass this up

Characters I cheered for, a story I didn't want to end. it was lovely and gripping.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good book to ponder

Good book to ponder. Helps one see the challenges on both sides of WWII. Moral dilemmas for many. Triumph and defeat in many ways. Great book for discussion. Highly recommend. So much can be learned from the past. Shows the many complexities of war. I listened to this book. It took some getting used to because it jumps around quite a bit. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was because I felt like the book could have had a better ending. The book built up to a climax and fell a little flat for me at the end.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

glad I hung in until the end

Great story and narration but there was a lot of jumping around that was hard to keep track of. I almost quit listening several times but am glad I finished it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Being Present with All the Light

I loved this story with mini-stories woven through it. The descriptions are vivid and certainly give life to my imagination. It is a great journey of seeing what the author sees and remaining present. To read life as seen through someone whose sight is limited brings so much more details to sound and smell.
The relationships are real, often romantic and tragic at the same time. What a beautiful way to make history flow.
Spoiler alert *** now I want to read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Novel by Jules Verne ***

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible

A weaving interconnected beautiful story. Absolutely worth the read and a touching tale of human spirit.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

I was so excited to listen to this given all the hype with the movie and many of my teacher friends assigning this book to their students. However, the narrator was super boring and the meticulous details about everything dragged this story out to make it a much longer one than it had to be. I admit I could not finish after three attempts. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that the movie is better.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating story

Loved the whole story from beginning to end. Great new story of WWII from a new point of view

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Exquisitely Written

This is such a beautifully written, well-crafted story. It’s now my second favorite book of all time.

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