Lauraine Reads: 'All the Light We Cannot See'

Here I am again, thanking my Bookies Reading Group for coercing me – well not quite, but you know what I mean – to read a book I would not normally have picked up. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is one of those books I had to force myself to continue reading, but I am grateful that I read. I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but some things in life are that way. Yes, in spite of all that, I am recommending it for others to read.

I call it a worthy read because the writing is excellent, the plot and characters are well crafted, and I am still thinking about the characters and the story a month after I read the last page. The discussion at my meeting left us all feeling pretty much the same way.

Two months ago I reviewed the Maisie Dobbs books set during World War I, and this month’s book is about World War II.

In between I watched a movie called The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, also set during World War II. It’s strange how lately I have been exposed to more books, movies, etc., regarding both World Wars. I usually stay away from war movies, war books, and war news because of the violence of it all, the horror, and the nightmares it engenders. Often the above glorify the brutality of men and I abhor that, but I also believe that if we don’t learn history, we are doomed to repeat it. We must learn from not only our own mistakes but those of others. Sorry, I did not aim to make this a political column.

There are two main characters in All the Light We Cannot See, a twelve-year-old blind girl and a boy of about the same age. She lives with her father who works at a museum in France, and the near genius boy lives in an orphanage with his younger sister.

Anthony Doerr creates intricate lives for them and you are delighted with both, until Hitler sets out to take over the world. The father is entrusted to help save a one-of-a-kind diamond and he and his family are forced to flee their home in Paris. The boy, who is a genius with all things mathematical, including building radios, is sent to a German boy’s school leaving his sister behind. The secondary characters and plots are equally finely defined, including a German officer, who searches for the diamond, and the young boy’s hunt for radio transmitters.

Reading this book is a challenge but, as you can see, a memorable one. I imagine it will be made into a movie where it will be interesting to see what they choose to omit and leave in.

The Courageous Heart (of Irena Sendler) movie is based on a true story about a woman who smuggled 2,500 children out of the Jewish ghettos in Poland. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and from my perspective should have won it.

I am now bitten by the gardening bug. As I am a fair weather gardener, I know I will find less time for reading on these bright sunny days. Extra reading time is one of the gifts of winter, as are handiwork and sewing. Happy reading and I hope some writing to you all. At least write a few of your family’s stories down for your own benefit and that of your family.