All the Light We Cannot See is a compelling World War II novel by Anthony Doerr, showcasing the interconnected lives of two distinct characters against the backdrop of a war-torn Europe. Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl, flees Paris with her father following the Nazi occupation, seeking refuge in Saint-Malo at her great-uncle's house by the sea. They bring with them a potentially invaluable and dangerous jewel from the Museum of Natural History, where her father worked. Meanwhile, in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan with a talent for radio technology, is drawn into the Hitler Youth and assigned to track the resistance, highlighting his internal conflict with the human cost of his intelligence.
The narrative unfolds through the alternating perspectives of Marie-Laure and Werner, employing a nonlinear structure that intricately weaves their lives towards a fateful convergence in Saint-Malo. Doerr's lyrical prose and short, vivid chapters guide the reader through the parallel journeys of resilience, discovery, and the quest for goodness amidst the horrors of war. The novel dives into themes of morality, the destructive nature of ambitions, and the miracle of human connectivity through science and nature.
Published in 2014, All the Light We Cannot See won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. The novel spent more than 200 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and sold more than 15 million copies. As a testament to the enduring appeal of its exploration of the darkness of war and the light within the human spirit, the book was adapted into a miniseries for Netflix in 2023.
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About the author
Anthony Doerr
Anthony Doer is an acclaimed American author. He is best known for his 2014 historical novel All the Light We Cannot See, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Carnegie Medal, among other honors.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1973, Doerr earned a BA in history from Bowdoin College and, subsequently, an MFA from Bowling Green State University. His literary debut, a collection of short stories titled The Shell Collector (2002), showcased his ability to weave complex narratives set against diverse geographical backdrops, from Africa to New Zealand, reflecting his own travels and experiences. His first novel, About Grace, was released in 2004, marking the beginning of his foray into long-form fiction. This was followed by his memoir, Four Seasons in Rome, and another collection of short stories, Memory Wall. However, it was his 2014 novel, All the Light We Cannot See, set in occupied France during World War II, that firmly established Doerr as a literary heavyweight. Doerr continued his exploration of complex narratives with the publication of Cloud Cuckoo Land in 2021, a novel spanning multiple storylines and timelines.
Doerr is also known for his contributions to science book columns in The Boston Globe and essays in various prestigious outlets. From 2007 to 2010, he served as the Writer in Residence for the state of Idaho, where he currently lives with his wife and twin sons.
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