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Day 116: All The Light We Cannot See

In addition to gratitude, my other endeavor for the year is to read more. I sadly admit to being one of those people who just couldn't read actual books once she had kids. So busy! But everyone's busy and we should make time for what we love, so this year I vowed to make time, even if I could only find 10 minutes a day.

I cheated a little bit, because i didn't technically read Anthony Doerr's "All The Light We Cannot See." I listened to it on Audible. All 16 hours of it. For several years I haven't really followed new fiction, but I heard of this through a couple of my favorite bloggers/book nerds and since I trust their recommendations, I jumped aboard the bandwagon. Apparently, he won a Pulitzer for it, so I guess I just missed the memo.

Thanks, Audible, for helping me read
while cooking/cleaning/driving!

This is the type of novel I've always wanted to write. I don't feel like I can give it a just book review because the writing, imagery and story were just astounding. It's a WWII story interweaving the lives of a young girl in France and a young boy-turned-soldier in Germany in an unexpected way. I am fully into a WWII kick after reading Tom Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation" and "The Greatest Generation Speaks." In those books, I read accounts of actual people who lived and died during the war, and their stories are eye-opening to say the least.

Somehow, though, I think novels can capture the feeling and the atmosphere of certain eras even better than first-hand accounts sometimes can. The author and audio book reader excelled at immersing me into the sights, sounds, smells and feelings of the characters. I am grateful that I chose this one to listen to, rather than read, because I think the correct use and pronunciation of the German and French aided in the authentic feel of the book.

This afternoon I listened to a great discussion of the book on the Fountains of Carrots podcast. Check it out here if you're interested. I always enjoy Christy and Haley's insights. And here is Bishop Robert Barron's take on the novel; it's worth a few minutes of your time, I think.

I definitely recommend this one. It's really amazing in so many ways. Now I'm going to visit my ridiculously long Pinterest "Books to Read" board and keep the WWII obsession going!
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Comments

  1. MarenMay 2, 2016 at 12:59 PM

    I read this awhile back. It is so good. The story of the boys at that Nazi school still haunts me.

    ReplyDelete

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