Sidekick: All the Light We Cannot See

by Bibliomaniac

 
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, is a masterpiece that spans decades, crosses borders, and intertwines lives. The novel is full of interesting symbolism and intriguing characters, but his intricate web of lives and events can be tricky to follow as Doerr constantly shifts between time periods.
 
This Sidekick to All the Light We Cannot See is sure to effortlessly guide you through the novel, point out what you might have otherwise missed, and broaden your understanding of the novel!
 

 
Chapter Summaries
 
Symbolism and Imagery
 
Individual Character Analysis
 
Questions to Consider
 
Important Quotes
 
This book serves as an accompaniment to the bestseller "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr. It is meant to broaden the reader's understanding of the book and to offer some insights which can easily be overlooked. You should order a copy of the actual book before reading this.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

48 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 20, 2016

Reviews

[Crystal Klahsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disliked how it ended

[Laura Witherington · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know everyone raves about this book, and the story was good, but I did not enjoy the writing style. It hopped back and forth between characters without telling you which one it was talking about until halfway through the page. It also was SO descriptive that I actually lost the storyline through so many of the details.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the top books of the year for me. Excellent read. Thought provoking and imaginative. I love a book where you can smell the smells, feel the textures and hear the sounds, through the pages of a book. Not quite five stars, but a 4.9...close enough to definitely recommend this read. A complete joy.

[Eddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story. My only disappointment was that there wasn't more about the meetings/visits between the characters at the end of the book.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, vivid, very stunning imagery. World War II story follows a German orphan turned soldier and a blind Parisian girl. The story follows right to present day.

[Terri Scoble · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and once I hit a certain point, I had a hard time putting it down. The author tells two stories of WWII through two very different lenses; that of a blind girl experiencing life under the Nazi regime, despite being "safe" from the atrocities suffered by the Jews, and the other of a young German boy who becomes a member of Hitler Youth. The experiences of these two individuals are written in beautiful detail. The author did a magnificent job of allowing the reader to feel the conflicting emotions felt by these characters, particularly the young German boy as he struggles to understand his desire to seek approval and praise for his work with Hitler Youth, while continuously reassuring himself that the doubt he feels about the ethics of his role is nothing to be concerned about. The author provides intricate detail when describing the city, the miniature cities that the blind girl uses as her guides, and as I read the little, minor details such as 'her shoelaces dragged behind her as she walked,' I could visualize the scene in my head as I read the words. As someone who has read several books centered around WWII, this was the first one that had a hard focus on Hitler Youth and the struggles within for these young men as they faced unimaginable pressure to be "pure" and right and never vulnerable while simultaneously being at the most vulnerable age of their adolescence. It was also intriguing to read the experience of WWII from the French perspective; the constant fear of saying the wrong thing, walking the wrong direction, speaking to the wrong person.....anything could get you arrested and sent to a camp. The author did an incredible job of writing the fear felt by all characters. My favorite part was the unexpected connection between the blind girl and the German boy. What a beautiful way to blend the stories of two very different individuals, with incomprehensibly different experiences of WWII in a way that created a bond that carried on through generations of the shared experiences of all those connected to Marie-Laure and Werner.

The story of Frederick was one of my favorites. Though it was tragic in the end, it was such a wonderful example of how humanity and compassion can survive even the most brutal of circumstances and environments.

My only critique is that it was a bit slow to get going, but as a reader, despite this, I was captivated from beginning to end.

[Chennay Georgia · Rating 2 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW!
I’ve heard about this book for a long time and it has been sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. Personally, I found it to start off slow. The mid section of the book picked up a little but not enough that it was something I needed to not put down. The ending for myself was predictable.

If you like world war 2 based stories, historically speaking this was beautifully written. I think that the story line itself and the characters were a little basic for my liking. However, I read the entire book and my final review for it is a 4/10.

Perhaps it is an amazing story to others but for myself I did not connect as much as I would have liked.

[Jneigum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn’t live up to the hype for me. Slow start, more intense after about halfway through until close to the end, then the end dragged on again. I still have three starts as I really did enjoy some parts of the book. One thing I really like about the writing style was the short chapters because it was really easy to pick up and put down. I mostly read the novel as the series is coming out on Netflix in November 2023 and it looks amazing - I am willing to wager this I will be a rare incidence of the screen adaptation being better than the novel.

[Ebba · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written for sure, and that's part of the problem. WW2 stories overflow, and I don't think a European could write this. Only an American could. I find this novel much too romantical and aesthetic to the point where I had to paus and scream at it several times. As a European with family who grew up in the midst of this tragedy, I found it sentimental and not at all twisted, harsh, terrifying or gross enough for a tale of childhood in a war zone. That said, I understand why people like this book. It just struck me as awfully gooey.

[Kry Tiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. This historical fiction is a work of art. Anthony Doerr does a wonderful job pulling you into the pages and immersing you in the depths of war. You will fall in love with Werner and Marie-Laure and Jutta, and loathe von Rumple. It will have you hanging on the edge of your seat to find out what happens next. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did! It was such an amazing book and so vividly detailed. Can’t wait to read more from this author!

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the Light We Cannot Sea is one of the most well written books I've ever read. It captures the bleak sadness of loss and the dim light of hope, it describes things in way that make the reader realize that they are not alone. Us readers look for this beautiful understanding between the author and the reader, we strive to find that connection that only some writers can capture. I think that All The Light we Cannot See captures it perfectly.

[Shakira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the way this story incorporated two narratives and allowed the reader to go back and forth between settings, plots, and perspectives. At first it was confusing to have to jump forward and backwards in time, but it all made sense in the end. Such a heartwarming and beautiful story- sucker for anything WWII related.

[Julie Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful story!

[Dfalkmd · Rating 4 out of 5]

i do like books that find you at a yard sale, when you've been meaning to read them. looking forward to the continued journey of this volume.

[reem · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's safe to say this book broke me
i loved it
there were so many touching quotes
i would definitely recommend reading it
i cried a lot while reading it made me so sad

[Julia Hay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great relationship and character building. Would have liked a slightly more gratifying ending. Sweet story though

[Susan McKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautifully written books I’ve read recently. New favourite author.

[Fahima · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good story from two perspectives.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was kind of hard to get into at first but really picked up after the first couple of chapters. Excited for the series on Netflix!

[Thomas Casella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a VERY long time for anything to get interesting in my opinion. Once it did, I was very much intrigued.

[Starsailor · Rating 2 out of 5]

So tedious, why was the main character blind? What was the point? It didn't make any difference to her life, such a rubbish trivial book, over hyped.

[Shelby Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, soul-crushing. “What you could be”

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rated on author’s site.,

[Nora Toney]

The ending was a bit unsatisfying

[Joan]

slow

[Lynda Rowland]

The authors use of imagery was brilliant! the book takes the reader through a wide range of emotions. I enjoyed it very much.

[Jadyn L · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book. It started off really confusing and didn't make sense. It is not for young readers. In the beginning it had a bunch of mis matched information and didn't blend well. Also the subject changes every few pages.