Ranch Librarian Reads: All the Light We Cannot See

Back in December, Hubster's side of the family decided to do a book exchange for Christmas presents. I loved this idea (I'm sure that's no real surprise), and was super excited about buying books for the person whose name I drew.

My awesome Father-in-Law drew my name, and he sent me a copy of Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer Prize winning All the Light We Cannot See. I had heard that this book was a worthwhile read, but hadn't picked up a copy.

Given that I was working like crazy on my Master's thesis, my reading time was a little strapped. I started into the novel, and realized pretty quickly that this read was going to require more of my attention and brainpower than what I currently had to offer, so I shelved it until a few weeks ago.

But when I began reading it again, I was totally amazed by the beauty of this novel. Doerr's writing is lyrical and lovely, and it tells a gripping story too. The style reminded me vaguely of Cold Mountain, in the sense that it's really a work of literary fiction that's also managed to capture the popular reading imagination.

The novel weaves together the story of two characters: young Frenchwoman Marie-Laure, who is blind and living in occupied France, and Werner, a young orphan whose aptitude with radios earned him a place in Hitler's youth training.

These two young people come from completely different backgrounds, but they steadily work towards one another from the early thirties through the Allied liberation of Saint Malo, France in 1944. When they finally meet, it's only for a brief time, but that moment is defining for them both, and ends up directing the course of the rest of their lives.

It's a compelling story, one that pulls you along as you continue reading, wondering what's going to happen next and whether or not Marie-Laure and Werner will safely weather the storm of World War II. It delves into Werner's misgivings about the Nazi regime even as he's a fully integrated part of it, and Marie-Laure's every day struggle with blindness and her father's disappearance.

All the Light We Cannot See wasn't the quickest read, but it was a meaningful one. Any story of those living in occupied France inevitably asks questions about what it means to stand up for what is right or keep quiet to get along. I think one of the beauties of this novel is the reality of what it meant to stand up against the Nazi regime when you were German, or an occupied country.

It's easy to look back in history and say, "Yes, I would have resisted," but when you really stop and consider what that would have meant for your life, it seems to me that saying something like that is pretty flippant. I can tell you that I believe that what the Nazis did was one hundred percent wrong, but I am not prepared to say that I know one hundred percent that I would have resisted them. After all, when you're afraid and overcome and deprived, survival instincts kick in pretty strong. And going against the occupiers was the opposite of what all those instincts would be screaming: "Stay small. Go unnoticed. Make no waves. Just get along and they'll leave you alone."

But both Werner and Marie-Laure discover their own instincts to survive, along with their moral compass, both guiding them to make decisions for the benefit of those around them.

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I was totally captivated by Doerr's novel, and would recommend it. If you're a fan of Historical Fiction, or the World War II era generally, then I think this unique story will resonate with you.

And on that note, if All the Light We Cannot See is up your alley, then I would also recommend the films Dunkirk and Denial.

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Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan's first war film, is in theaters now, and it unfolds in the same kind of hauntingly beautiful way as All the Light We Cannot See. It's unlike any war movie I've ever seen before, and I am sure that it will surprise you as well.

And if you're interested in thinking about the concept of resistance or not resistance, Denial is an incredible thought-provoking film starring Rachel Weiss and Tom Wilkinson. It tells the real life story of a libel suit brought against an American Holocaust expert by a British Nazi Historian who denies the existence of the Holocaust. The dramatic events unfold in the late 90s and early 2000s, and the film will amaze you.

Any other amazing and maybe lesser known World War II stories we should be reading? Share in comments below!