Yun’s review of All the Light We Cannot See > Likes and Comments

Caiti wrote: "Great review. You hit on all the things that made me dnf it. I literally fell asleep when reading this. I can't believe you made it all the way through it! Too flowery for me. Very much like the cr..."
Thanks, Caiti! Yes, it was beautiful if you look at the individual sentences and paragraphs, but it just didn't come together as a story. Too bad it didn't speak to you either. I persevered to the end thinking it would get better, but it never did, unfortunately.

My thoughts exactly!

James wrote: "My thoughts exactly!"
Thanks, James! Sorry this disappointed you too!

Hi Yun! DUDE! I swear we have the same tastes in many books. I just finished this and I felt the same way. This as actually my second time reading it and I still didn't care much by the end of it. Great review.

Karina wrote: "Hi Yun! DUDE! I swear we have the same tastes in many books. I just finished this and I felt the same way. This as actually my second time reading it and I still didn't care much by the end of it. ..."
Haha we're like book-twins, Karina! You read this TWICE?! I bow down to you. I barely made it through once and all it did was make me fall asleep. Now that I think about it, it might be good for my insomnia. ;)

I felt exactly the same! Wonderful review!

Rachel Reads Ravenously wrote: "I felt exactly the same! Wonderful review!"
Thanks, Rachel! Sorry this one didn't wow you either.

Based upon your two reviews, this and Cloud Cuckoo Land, it appears you are not the type of reader who enjoys anything longer than 200-300 page books. Yuor reviews seem to be more about the length of the book then their actual content. I would suggest that you stay with short stories instead of any type of novel whereby the reader needs to think or engage oneself with the narrative.

Ben wrote: "Based upon your two reviews, this and Cloud Cuckoo Land, it appears you are not the type of reader who enjoys anything longer than 200-300 page books. Yuor reviews seem to be more about the length ..."
If that is your takeaway from my reviews, then you didn't actually read or understand them. I don't have a problem with long books. In fact, some of my favorite books are long ones (A Gentleman in Moscow, Project Hail Mary, Apples Never Fall, etc). But more words doesn't equal more content, and that is the big issue I have with this author's writing. Obviously, you are entitled to your opinion, but there is no need to leave passive aggressive comments on mine just to validate your own feelings about this book. Geesh!

Oh sorry this didn't work for me, this is one of my all time favorites, hope you love your next one Yun :)

So many people love this book, but it just isn't for me. I fell asleep multiple times while reading

haha, that's the clue. 😆

Dorie - Cats&Books :) wrote: "Oh sorry this didn't work for me, this is one of my all time favorites, hope you love your next one Yun :)"
Thanks, Dorie! I'm glad you really enjoyed it, as so many other readers do! Just wish I had the same experience. :)

nastya wrote: "So many people love this book, but it just isn't for me. I fell asleep multiple times while reading

haha, that's the clue. 😆"
Haha! I should've saved it for when I had insomnia! 😂

Great review!!

Entirely agree with
a book with more than 500 pages can't just be made up of nothing but beautiful, flowery, descriptive prose. Things need to happen, plots need to advance, characters need to grow.

I was perplexed by the accolades for this one! It didn’t work for me either! Always appreciate an honest review!

Great review! I wasn’t a fan of this book.

Mikey B. wrote: "Great review!!

Entirely agree with
a book with more than 500 pages can't just be made up of nothing but beautiful, flowery, descriptive prose. Things need to happen, plots need to advance, charac..."
Thanks, Mikey! Appreciate you saying that! :)

Jayme wrote: "I was perplexed by the accolades for this one! It didn’t work for me either! Always appreciate an honest review!"
Thanks, Jayme! Glad I'm not the only one! Perplexing is right lol!

NILTON wrote: "Great review! I wasn’t a fan of this book."
Thanks, Nilton! Glad I'm not the only one! :)

I 100% agree, Yun!

Marialyce (absltmom, yaya) wrote: "I 100% agree, Yun!"
Thanks, Marialyce! Glad it's not just me that didn't get this! :)

damn i hopeyou have better luck on your next book :)

Kirie-Chan wrote: "damn i hopeyou have better luck on your next book :)"
Haha! Thanks, Kirie-Chan! :)

Nescio wrote: "I applaud your honesty!"
Thanks, Nescio! Appreciate you saying that! :)

I’m sorry it didn’t work for you and I have seen mixed reviews. Thank you for your honesty! ❤️

I felt similarly about this book! Haha I questioned my feelings about it because it seems like everyone loves it and that it’s almost a classic. Great review, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one.

"Writing alchemy"--I love it! Excellent review, too.

Ceecee wrote: "I’m sorry it didn’t work for you and I have seen mixed reviews. Thank you for your honesty! ❤️"
Thanks, Ceecee! Appreciate your kind words! 💖

Hayley wrote: "I felt similarly about this book! Haha I questioned my feelings about it because it seems like everyone loves it and that it’s almost a classic. Great review, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one."
Thanks, Hayley! You're not the only one! I know what you mean about being questioning yourself... I was so confused while reading, thinking I'd missed something lol.

John wrote: ""Writing alchemy"--I love it! Excellent review, too."
Haha! Thanks a bunch, John! :)

Sometimes we just have to say what we see and feel, regardless of how much the status quo tries to tell us differently... from what you perceived of this read, I can only agree that I would find it as much a let-down as you did. Nice review Yun. :)

I gave it two stars, too, and I’m always relieved when someone writes a such a good review that agrees with my unpopular opinion. It makes me feel better about disliking a book everyone and their mother seems to love.

This sounds awful Yun! I am glad that I didn’t have this on my tbr!

Baba wrote: "Sometimes we just have to say what we see and feel, regardless of how much the status quo tries to tell us differently... from what you perceived of this read, I can only agree that I would find it..."
Thanks, Baba! Appreciate your support! I wish I had seen the magic that everyone else saw in this book, but I didn't, so I can only write about what a slog this was haha. :)

lilias wrote: "I gave it two stars, too, and I’m always relieved when someone writes a such a good review that agrees with my unpopular opinion. It makes me feel better about disliking a book everyone and their m..."
Thanks, lilias! I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't enjoy this! For some reason, whenever I don't like a Doerr book, I always get lots of comments telling me I just don't understand literature and obviously can't think properly. So your supportive comment is much appreciated! :)

JaymeO wrote: "This sounds awful Yun! I am glad that I didn’t have this on my tbr!"
Thanks, Jayme! It's still good for insomnia! ;)

Happy to see your thoughts about this one. I'm glad I'd decided not to read this book. Seems I would've felt the same about this book.

Lucy wrote: "Happy to see your thoughts about this one. I'm glad I'd decided not to read this book. Seems I would've felt the same about this book."
Thanks, Lucy! You know, that's probably a good call! Haha! :)

I also thought this book was super boring and didn't bother finishing it. I found a plot synopsis online just to make sure I didn't miss something, and it turns out my decision to give it up was correct! Glad I'm not the only one.

Absolutely agree with you. Attempted to read it a long, long time ago and had the same impression: lovely language, no impetus.

Thanks for your review, Yun. This book has never called to me, based on other reviews I've read.

Good review. I know exactly what you mean about writing essays in school! I bought this book at a used book store a few years ago and I've been feeling guilty every time I look at it and don't pick it up. Thank you for removing that guilt!!

Rebecca wrote: "I also thought this book was super boring and didn't bother finishing it. I found a plot synopsis online just to make sure I didn't miss something, and it turns out my decision to give it up was co..."
Thanks, Rebecca! Glad I'm not the only one who found this to be a slog! I should've DNF, but kept going hoping something interesting would happen. It obviously didn't lol! :)

carol. wrote: "Absolutely agree with you. Attempted to read it a long, long time ago and had the same impression: lovely language, no impetus."
Thanks, Carol! Ha, glad I'm not the only one who didn't see anything beneath the lovely language. :)

MarilynW wrote: "Thanks for your review, Yun. This book has never called to me, based on other reviews I've read."
Thanks, Marilyn! You are wise to pass, my friend! I wish I'd done the same lol! :)

Carol wrote: "Good review. I know exactly what you mean about writing essays in school! I bought this book at a used book store a few years ago and I've been feeling guilty every time I look at it and don't pick..."
Thanks, Carol! I totally absolve you of all guilt! I wish I'd done the same, to be honest lol! :)

Yun wrote: "Ben wrote: "Based upon your two reviews, this and Cloud Cuckoo Land, it appears you are not the type of reader who enjoys anything longer than 200-300 page books. Yuor reviews seem to be more about..."

Sorry you had to listen to this guy's blather, we've all blocked him, good riddance!!! We value different opinions on books, it's what makes our friendships interesting!!! Good for you Yun, you gave him a good talking to, blocked him anyway!!

If it makes you feel any better, today I had a guy, no experience with reviewing of course, complained to me that I had to many exclamation marks in my review of . It's called being excited about a book :)

Dorie - Cats&Books :) wrote: "Sorry you had to listen to this guy's blather, we've all blocked him, good riddance!!! We value different opinions on books, it's what makes our friendships interesting!!! Good for you Yun, you gav..."
Thanks a bunch, Dorie! You've hit upon the crux of the issue, which is that people can read the same book, but come away with completely different experiences. No one is more right than another. I'm not sure why some people feel the need to come into other people's reviews just to put their opinions down. It's really disheartening! I'm sorry you are running into the same issue. Ugh! Please ignore those comments, as I and many others love the way you write your reviews! :)

Yun great review. I got to a little past midway through and set it aside. It was so ho hum to me and this author could not hold my attention.

"It reminds me of school assignments back in the day, when I'm told to expand on what I've written. But I had no more content, nothing more to say, so I just found different ways to write the same thing over and over, hoping the teacher wouldn't notice." Sheer perfection on how I felt reading it.