• 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 (63,979 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
All the Light We Cannot See  By  cover art

All the Light We Cannot See

By: Anthony Doerr
Narrated by: Zach Appelman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.49

Buy for $22.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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

Discover More Light-Filled Listens


Enjoy the eight days and nights of celebrating the festival of lights with our uplifting Hanukkah Gift Guide.

Featured Article: 65+ Quotes About Love from Much-Loved Authors


While saying "I love you" speaks volumes, there are times when you yearn to express your feelings for a loved one—whether a cherished friend, serious crush, or your soul mate—in a way that's more creative, more eloquent, more memorable...in a word: quotable. For those times, there's no better source to turn to than great authors. We've collected some of most tender, most romantic, and most passionate quotes from the world's most-loved authors.

What listeners say about All the Light We Cannot See

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    42,561
  • 4 Stars
    14,609
  • 3 Stars
    4,841
  • 2 Stars
    1,261
  • 1 Stars
    707
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    40,912
  • 4 Stars
    11,741
  • 3 Stars
    3,048
  • 2 Stars
    732
  • 1 Stars
    486
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38,208
  • 4 Stars
    12,238
  • 3 Stars
    4,452
  • 2 Stars
    1,303
  • 1 Stars
    674

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful and captivating

This is just amazing. I loved every minute of it. well read, well produced, lovely.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best.

Beautifully woven. Poignant. Deeply inciteful. One of the best books I have experienced. I will read it again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

He wrote like I was blind. It was so descriptive, as if painted. War cannot have happy endings.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely loved this story

A magnificent story. Such a well written piece. The author did a wonderful job in taking me into the lives of everyone and being able to experience their experiences. I completely love this book and will definitely recommend it...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What a finish

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Wonderful right up to the end. Lots of history. Characters very interesting in development.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book just not my style

I think this story was super interesting. It offered a great perspective on the German soldiers and victims during WWI... It was well written with many layers that I could see working well for a class to analyze or a book club to delve in to. But to be honest, it just isn't my type of book. I prefer a bit more suspense or something else. But like I said, this book was definitely top of the line as far as story content. The author did a wonderful job.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enchanting

This book is absolutely spellbinding. Doer is a master of metaphor and simile. He had me captivated from the very start.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

very good story

First time author, this book was very well written. A French girl goes completely blind when she is 6 years in 1934 Paris. A young German boy is swept up into World War II before his time. The story weaves its way up to and through the war eventually bringing the two together. Not really a thriller but with some suspense it is mostly about the two characters coming of age in a terrible time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Beautifuly written

It's a literary work and so I imagine it is much more beautiful when you read and see the words.
The story is nice and touching but because it switches back and forth in time and people I don't recommend listening to this while doing something that takes any focus.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Magnificent, utterly magnificent.

The book follows two congruous stories of a French girl and a German boy coming of age during Wold War II. If you think this is another of "those" books where the girl and boy meet by happenstance, fall in love, and end up together forever, you're mistaken. It's much, much more than that. The trials Marie-Laure and Werner go through are multifaceted and continuous. The way the book is arranged takes focus to keep up audibly, but it is worth every moment.
The narration is amazing, clear, and remarkably well spoken, especially with so many French and German names and places.
It was a true pleasure to read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!