I don’t normally right write about books I’ve read but I couldn’t help myself. This book is one of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever read, it is about a young French blind girl and a young German boy during World War Two, and how it affected their lives.

Films and documentaries don’t give the horrors of the wars justice, and it is something this book cleverly does, yet not in the ways one might initially think about the horrors of wars. You see a gradual development of life getting harder and worse, and it takes an interesting perspective on how their lives have both been affected by the war.

I could not recommend a book more, it really is so beautifully written.

EDIT: Thank you kind stranger for the reward, it is my first!!

EDIT 2: I really didn’t expect so many to see this, but thank you so so much for all of your opinions and recommendations! I’m really enjoying seeing what everyone else has to say. Also thank you so much for the rewards!!

All the Light We Cannot See

Premise: During World War II, the journeys of blind French teenager Marie-Laure LeBlanc (Aria Mia Loberti) and German soldier Werner Pfennig (Louis Hofmann) cross in Shawn Levy's four-part limited series based on Anthony Doerr's novel of the same name.

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Just finished. I have not read the book, but I feel 4 episodes are not enough to describe each character (especially the Professor). And I would have preferred they speak German and French, not all English...

The best thing is Nell Sutton, the young Marie actress IMO. What's your take?

Trying to read this novel I’ve bought in 2015 and having some difficulties to identify why is this a Pulitzer Prize winner. Yes, the story is interesting, but everything about WWII is kind of interesting. But I’m truly fighting with his writing style, which seems a bit cheesy to me.

Maybe the problem is with the translation I’m reading (Brazilian Portuguese), but I feel his style is a bit tacky.

Would love to know what you guys think about this novel. I’m on page 40 and I'm wondering if it's worth reading it.

Just found a really interesting show on Netflix. The title is in the subject but its focus is on shortwave radio and broadcasting during WW2. So far it’s really good! Thought you fellow hams out there would appreciate the historical reference point for this show.

Pulitzer Prize winner. I didn't think this one would appeal to me but I decided to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did. It takes place in the period of the rise of Hitler to the bitter defeat. Both at times darky disturbing and touching tracing a young German boy and a young French blind girl until their lives intersect in an almost surreal manner. The writer has a very daring, almost confusing way of mixing the chronology but it works perfectly as the story unfolds. You will read of the true horror of Nazi Germany interwoven in the story and really an extraordinary young blind girl who never stops trying. Those who read it any thoughts ?

Well done! I cried and clapped, in my living room, at home. Alone.

Has anyone watched this yet? I have no idea what is going on with his accent. I mean, aside from that, the French speak English with British accents, I don't know if there are going to be British with British accents, and Germans speaking English as well. I've only just started but What is happening here?

Am I the only person who has tried to watch this show and just can't because of how bad it is? The underlying story seems like it should be great but nearly everything else is terrible. In particular Mark Ruffalo's accent is just.... HORRIBLE

Written by Anthony Doerr, it follows the complex arcs of two invisible lines of life through Werner and Marie, crisscrossing into the void. Riveting flashbacks and fast forwards, carving through time. The story outlines the struggle of realising whether you truly own your life when it's being swallowed by a black hole called war. Vague moral ideas juxtapose sharply with precise reality. The blind bookworm. The white haired genius. The politics of war and the stupendous beauty of life, of the human mind. It's a coming of age story, a historical novel, a philosophical fable. The language is extraordinary . The way Doerr wields his words like an impressionistic painter, making his passages sing. It has exquisite, hauntingly beautiful metaphors that stud the page. A lot of reference to light, seeing and not seeing. Being figuratively blind and the difference between the both. The cadence and rythem of the words made it one of the best books I've read. It illuminates the way our lines of life crisscross in space. The way we are all intertwined. The last few chapters are a slap in the face, when you connect the dots and realise the big picture, the final bow. The miraculous impact one kind thought, one good action can start off, weaving it's way through the stories of other people, underlining their every sentence. Definitely recommend this book. It's extraordinary.

Obvious spoilers ahead!

What the hell. I’m not crazy, right? This is one of the WORST adaptations of a book I’ve ever seen.

Completely different tone and message than the book. Crazy action hero scenes and everybody’s a badass. Etienne on a motorcycle with an automatic, for real? He never even meets Werner in the book but now they’re practically father and son after talking for like two minutes??

Every Nazi is laughably evil. There are no ambiguous characters and all Nazis communicate by holding a gun to your head. Werner’s entire backstory distilled into literally a five minute flashback. We see none of his struggles, his friendships, waiting for his death in the rubble.

Worst of all, just randomly deciding who lives and dies with no reliance on the source material??? Seriously? Werner’s death is so important to the story, and the epilogue drives all of that home. It seems so flagrantly disrespectful to the author to do something like this to his novel. Did he even get an opinion? Why on earth were these changes greenlit?!

Just finished this wonderful short series. It is superb with some terrific characters and strong acting. The story, although a little far fetched keeps the viewer focussed, intrigued and definitely drawn in. If you haven't seen it, then do give it a go. It's a ten from me....

I was pretty excited about this miniseries, but the critics have been pretty harsh on it. Are you going to watch it?

Sitting at 29% on RottenTomatoes with 14 reviews.

All four episodes coming out November 2nd.

Here’s the Review from The Hollywood Reporter:

I read the book in 2014, immediately after it’s release. I do remember loving the book, and was excited to see Netflix was making a one and done, four part series adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Many reviews bashed the show, bemoaning the fact that it “changed the ending”. I read lots of books, so my memory of the story was more in broad stroked - blind girl, WWII, German boy, Paris - I couldn’t even really remember how it ended. Because of this, I was truly able to thoroughly enjoy this beautiful and haunting tale. So much so that I binged it twice - once with my brother, and then again with my husband, taking in more subtle details each time.

It lead me to revisit the book, after hearing so many complaints. This time I listened to it on Audible (highly recommend!) in a matter of a few days while working around the house, the yard, and lying in bed at night. The book absolutely outshines the show, but without detracting from it -both are beautiful and deep.

SPOILERS!!!

My question concerns the book ending. Is the stone still possessed by Marie? Was it in the little Saint Melot house she left in the grotto? Did Werner’s nephew Max discover it when he told his Mother the house opens up? Does the ending with Marie talking to her great(?) grandson mean that she still has the stone, and will live forever? The line about her seeing the turn of the century (2,000), and “she lives still” mean that she does indeed possess The Sea of Flames?

I love a book that takes me away, envelopes me, and connects me to characters, places, and time, but this one has tied my brain in knots. Would love to hear what others think.

I always say books are better than movies. But this is an exception 🤯 Have your watched it? Please let me know your thoughts about it 🥹