All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr, 2014
Historical fiction Contemporary fictionLiterary fiction
A blind Parisian girl and a German boy with a radio gift are pulled toward each other through the Nazi occupation, in a war story built from small, luminous things. The story moves with a tender, melancholy patience, brightened by witty small observations and moments of quiet serenity.
Feels like tenderness, melancholy and serenity. About war.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy historical fiction that stays close to small sensory details and quiet, tender voices. The Nazi occupation and war backdrop bring real menace and sorrow, so it isn't a light read throughout.
Why read it
It offers a humane way to sit with wartime history, showing how curiosity, care and radio signals can connect people across enemy lines.
A page from the book
The stone
“And so the stone fell out of history. Until one day, when a French diamond trader, during a trip to the Golconda Mines in India, was shown a massive pear-cut diamond. One hundred and thirty-three carats. Near-perfect clarity. As big as a pigeon’s egg, he wrote, and as blue as the sea, but with a flare of red at its core. He made a casting of the stone and sent it to a gem-crazy duke in Lorraine, warning him of the rumors of a curse. But the duke wanted the diamond very badly. So the trader brought it to Europe, and the duke fitted it into the end of a walking stick and carried it everywhere.” Anthony Doerr.Doerr researched blind literacy and the history of radio for the novel, which won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Books that feel like this
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Mary Ann Shaffer, 2008
Also tenderness and melancholy.
More by Anthony Doerr
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Anthony Doerr, 2021
Five lives across centuries, linked by an ancient Greek codex and the stubborn will to preserve stories.
Where to get it
Some of these links earn us a small commission, at no cost to you. It keeps BookFeed free.
Questions readers ask
- Is All the Light We Cannot See for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy historical fiction that stays close to small sensory details and quiet, tender voices. The Nazi occupation and war backdrop bring real menace and sorrow, so it isn't a light read throughout.
- What is All the Light We Cannot See like?
- The story moves with a tender, melancholy patience, brightened by witty small observations and moments of quiet serenity. Feels like tenderness, melancholy and serenity. About war.
- What should I read after All the Light We Cannot See?
- If you liked All the Light We Cannot See, try The Book Thief (Markus Zusak), The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer) and Room (Emma Donoghue).
A taste of the feed
The voice that will carry you away is more polite than you'd expect.
I could introduce myself properly, but it’s not really necessary. You will know me well enough and soon enough, depending on a diverse range of variables. It suffices to say that at some point in time, I will be standing over you, as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away.
The Book Thief · Markus Zusak
The confidence of exactly five years old, stated without a flicker of doubt.
When I was a little kid I thought like a little kid, but now I’m five I know everything.
Room · Emma Donoghue
The argument you have with yourself before doing the frightening thing.
The idea made her sick and scared, but so what? Why did it matter if something scared you, when it simply had to be done anyway?
The Alice Network · Kate Quinn
Read pages from books like this, one at a time
Keep reading in the feed