All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was truly as good as the reviewers said it was. You will be sympathetic to all the characters, which means you will embrace both the good and bad of both sides of the war. It is so easy to vilify Germans in these World War II stories, yet they are people like you and me. The main characters are Marie-Laure, a young blind girl and Werner, an orphaned radio repair man.

As you get to know Werner, you begin to understand why he made his choice, and also to see that you may have made the same choice. As you get to know Marie-Laure, you feel her fear, and also, her courage. Werner's sister displays that innate sense of what is right and the ability to stay true to that. Marie's uncle, who becomes her caregiver after her father is captured, is both a coward and a hero.

The author allows us glimpses into their lives, the background story, if you will, of why they are who they are. You gain a sympathy and understanding for each of them. For me, this is part of what makes the story so powerful. Of course there is good and evil in the world, we see, read, and hear about the evil everyday. Somehow, evil becomes a country, or a people, or a political party. This story helps me to remember that it's individuals who make up the groups--perhaps, if we know their back stories, and help them in an appropriate way, they will have the power to change the evil into something good.


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