On a rough average of once every two or three years, I find myself reading a book that I simply cannot put down. A book which distracts me from my usual Netflix binging. A book, which draws me in, and consequently I find myself staying up well past my bedtime, reading. A book that results in me making flippant recommendations to anyone who shows any interest in reading. Earlier this year, while in an airport, I rushed in to a bookstore and hastily grabbed the first book I could find with an award sticker on the cover. In this instance, it was the 2015 Pulitzer winner, ‘All the light we cannot see’ by Anthony Doerr. I rushed out of said bookshop thinking ‘ well if it’s good enough for a Pulitzer, then it must be OK’. A few days later, I found myself lost in this book. I instantly fell in love with Marie-Laure and Werner. I quickly realised that these two characters were destined to meet, and I could not wait to find out how this would occur. Doerr’s mastery of managing multiple points of view and interchangeable timelines made the book a thrilling read. Furthermore, each ‘chapter’ was short and to the point, resulting in a glorious page-turner. While Marie-Laure was blind, Doerr’s words aptly captured her intricate sense of hearing and touch, as she navigated her way through the streets of Paris and Saint-Malo. Similarly, Werner’s journey through Nazi training and his short lived field work captured a unique perspective on the second world war, one which is seen through the eyes of seemingly innocent young people, who had been brainwashed and recruited for the delivery of yet to be conceptualized horrors. Doerr’s intricate descriptions of Saint-Malo, pre and post-bombing, and the abrasive training camp in Schulpforta were breathtaking. Subsequently, I have made plans to read Anthony Doerr’s other titles as a matter of urgency.
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June 2018
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