All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The 2015 Pulitzer Prize Novel All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is a great read to explore the resilience of humanity amidst the destruction of war. The thoughtfully crafted and intricate novel displays the horrors of World War II through two perspectives, Marie-Laure and Werner. Marie-Laure is a young girl who lives in France; becoming blind at the age of six, Marie-Laure escapes Paris to go to her great-uncle’s home in Saint-Malo. As those close to her get captured, Marie-Laure is on her own to survive the last weeks of World War II.

Contrarily, Werner is a German boy growing up in an orphan house with his sister Jutta. From a young age, Werner becomes fascinated with the intricate technologies of engineering and radios, ultimately getting into a prestigious yet brutal academy. As Werner works for Hitler in the German military, he travels through the heart of the war, eventually arriving in Saint-Malo where he crosses paths with Marie-Laure. As their paths converge, Doerr reveals how two individuals on opposite sides of a devastating conflict are connected by their shared search for hope, morality, and humanity. Overall, I rate this book 5/5 stars because this novel was beautifully woven, truly making me rethink the complexities of war and morality differently.