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Original poster

All The Light We Cannot See

38 replies

Clawdy · 21/10/2016 16:06

Just finished Anthony Doerr's novel, for our book group. It is wonderful. One of the few books I could read again, if only to know those people in it again. It's quite long, but with very short chapters, and once you begin, you just want to keep on reading.....

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schmack · 07/12/2016 00:23

I loved this book and I wouldn't normally read anything that wasn't contemporary, beautiful.

BaconAndAvocado · 27/11/2016 21:34

A wonderful wonderful book.

defineme · 27/11/2016 19:45

Beautiful book, I have bought it for 3 people since I read it, one of those books I felt priveleged to have read. I kept re reading pages because the language was so lovely.

kungfupannda · 27/11/2016 19:36

I loved this book - incredible language in places - but I thought the ending went on too long. I kept expecting each of the last 4 or 5 chapters to be the last, and then, oh no, another one!

MuseumOfCurry · 23/11/2016 18:53

I just finished His Bloody Project and loved it.

I couldn't get into all the light - I guess I'll try it again.

SlottedSpoon · 20/11/2016 10:16

I really enjoyed ATLWCS and Iam just starting The Light Between Two Oceans now.

actiongirl1978 · 20/11/2016 09:57

hopelessly I hadn't either until I read 'the undertaking' by Audrey Magee. I also adored 'all the light' and would recommend the undertaking too

HappydaysArehere · 20/11/2016 09:52

Loved this book. Read it about a year ago. Walking around the British Museum and came across the book of birds mentioned. Cannot remember the title but I believe it is American and it is famous and I had heard of it before but mind has gone blank at the moment.

BaconAndAvocado · 02/11/2016 21:39

Completely loved this book! I will never forget Werner.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 25/10/2016 14:39

Totally disagree that it came across as, 'All Germans are bad".

Do agree that the ending was silly. I wasn't at all interested in her as an adult university professor, be it credible or no, and don't think the final section added anything at all to the novel; in fact, it detracted from what I thought had been v good prior to that. I think it should have ended when the two met, or v soon afterwards.

Allalonenow · 25/10/2016 14:33

Here are some more I've read recently
The art of hearing heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaefer
Villa Normandy by Kevin Doherty (though set in WWII quite a light read)
The Girl from Krakow by Alex Rosenberg (enjoyed this very much)

Allalonenow · 25/10/2016 12:42

AnyFucker
As you liked ATLWCS, you might like "The light between oceans" by M. L. Stedman, I enjoyed them both.

Felascloak · 25/10/2016 11:45

It's just my opinion.
I prefer a more nuanced view than a "goodies/baddies" and that's how it came across to me.

Original poster
Clawdy · 25/10/2016 11:25

They were certainly not all bad - Werner, Frederick, Frederick's family, Jutta, professor whose name I can't recall, the lovely lady who ran the orphanage and brought the children up.....They were far from clichéd.

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Felascloak · 25/10/2016 08:07

I had coincidentally read a lot of WW2 books around the same time. In this one i found the fact all the Germans were bad and all the resistance fighters were good quite clichéd.
I didn't hate it, just found it a bit also-ran.

GreenGinger2 · 25/10/2016 07:23

I found the idea of a blind,female with a disrupted education becoming a renowned uni professor in war torn Europe unbelievable. We also didn't get to know her at all as her older character and it ended too abruptly.

HappydaysArehere · 25/10/2016 01:19

Loved this book. Read it last year. Really memorable.

bumpetybumpbumpbump · 24/10/2016 07:12

Just started this Smile

Original poster
Clawdy · 23/10/2016 22:46

Didn't find many clichés in it. Werner's war experiences made fascinating and different reading for me.

OP posts:
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 23/10/2016 22:16

Clichéd in what sense?

Felascloak · 23/10/2016 21:42

Meh. Thought it was a bit of a clichéd war novel myself although I am obviously in the minority.

HopelesslydevotedtoGu · 22/10/2016 22:26

I absolutely loved this book

I found the descriptions really beautiful, sometimes I'd read the same paragraph several times to enjoy the language

I have never read/ seen anything about ww2 from a German characters perspective

It really hit home for me what a terrific waste of peoples' lives war is, not only the dead but those who lived through it

The ending felt right for me

The short chapters were perfect for reading when breastfeeding late at night Smile

HopelesslydevotedtoGu · 22/10/2016 22:20

Anyfucker I loved the orphan masters son, it won a Pulitzer Prize

GreenGinger2 · 22/10/2016 19:33

I was disappointed with the end.

AnyFucker · 22/10/2016 16:29

I will have a look

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