Book Review: All the Light We Cannot See

World War II, 1945. It was a time of chaos and doubt, nowhere was safe, and the world was engulfed in darkness. ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ by Anthony Doerr shows two individuals, from opposite sides of the sparring countries, France and Germany. A blind girl, who loves books, teaches herself to navigate the world with the help of her father’s brilliant woodwork creations of their surroundings. A young orphan boy, with a scientific mind, and an aptitude for gadgets delves into radio technology, amid Nazi tension. Marie-Laure and Werner overcome the fever of the war and pursue their interests wherever it leads them.

Hitler’s declaration and preparation for war were mostly fuelled by the country’s rather reluctant citizens, especially the young and abled. This is Werner’s story - his path was laid out for him as a worker in the mines, doing ‘his part for serving the Reich’. People around him did not notice Werner’s interest in the inner workings of radios and science, in their fanaticism for serving the country. Werner musters up courage, becomes part of the army and travels to places he has never fathomed about. He takes the road forced on him by Hitler, with a fair amount of doubt and hesitation as would most Germans who had a conscience. He sees the stubbornness in his roommate, Frederick, who is an aspiring birdwatcher but is forced to join the military and takes the hard way out - suicide.

The author has a unique style of writing, as this book is written in the present continuous tense. The book describes events and actions as if they are happening now in the present. This technique is useful in a story that describes a major event in the past, like WWII. The reader gets to feel as if he is present in the story and witnessing thoughts and actions first-hand. 

The book, when read in the beginning, may seem like a bunch of events collected haphazardly and does not make sense when compared. But as the reader goes on, they will begin to notice the chapters piece together- characters who didn’t seem like they had a purpose, finally begin to show their motive. Sergeant Major Reinhold Von Rumpel was introduced in the middle of the book. I struggled to see where he was going and what was his purpose, but in the end, I could understand why he was there in the story and his connections with Marie-Laure and her father. The author has orchestrated a grand scheme that knits the characters and their futures together in the end, bringing about a great story.

Euphemisms are words or phrases that soften the impact of their actual, harsh meaning. In a book that talks about a major war, where there may be acts of unspeakable violence, this literary device comes in handy and hides details that make the story too explicit and violent for some people’s liking. Werner’s death is also an example of an indirect euphemism.

“But Werner has crossed the edge of the field, where he steps on a trigger land mine set there by his own army three months before, and disappears in a fountain of earth.”

Overall, this book fits well to my taste in historical fiction. The author has cleverly dedicated the last three chapters to the future to give continuity to the story. These chapters are set in 1974 and 2014 and show the characters after the war, and how they look back at their memories of it. The last chapter, dedicated to Marie Laure, compares the world as it is today, and the world during her time, a different century.