All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

“I have been feeling very clearheaded lately and what I want to write about today is the sea. It contains so many colors. Silver at dawn, green at noon, dark blue in the evening. Sometimes it looks almost red. Or it will turn the color of old coins. Right now the shadows of clouds are dragging across it, and patches of sunlight are touching down everywhere. White strings of gulls drag over it like beads.

It is my favorite thing, I think, that I have ever seen. Sometimes I catch myself staring at it and forget my duties. It seems big enough to contain everything anyone could ever feel.”

I heard nothing but good things about this book. And the cover? And how big it is? And world war two?

I needed to read it, even though I had to suffer through...I kid you not...being number 1354 on the hold list.

Stats:

Genre: Historical fiction

Feelings: Plenty of them

Happiness: Some smiles. Mainly because of the prose.

Cuteness: ANGRY CUTENESS AND FEELS

Fast pacing: Slow. Take your time reading it.

Series: Nope

Read if you like: WW2, poetic prose, spending a lot of time with character development.

Content: Some cases of soldiers saying f-word....and some vaguely described scenes of soldiers using girls, possible a brothel, but if you weren't paying attention you wouldn't have even realized it happened. 

In one sentence... The love of the little things like the sea, family, stories, and the way the tiniest things can change lives.
Thoughts: Seashells in a row on a shelf and radio static

Overall:

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely bits:

This is one of the best books I have read this year.

Because of the short chapter and read one before I went to bed. And so it took a freakishly long time to read it, but it was worth every word.

The characters. It was told almost from a distance...you never really got fully into their heads, and yet you still feel for them. You still wanted lots of happy endings for them. 

The PROSE.

It was full of the love of the ocean, the wonder of shells and the sky and the power of stories, words, learning and a single radio in an attic. 

There were chapters, sentences and ways the story was woven that blew me away. Honestly this book got a high rating solely because of the prose. 

You met a large cast of characters, and almost all of them made you feel with only a few words. I got so lost in the world and stories, making the book and even better adventures. 

The Less Lovely bits:

As said earlier, it's told from a distance. Often times it seems more like a historical account with some lyrical bits thrown in. It really could have been condensed, and if you aren't allowing yourself to enjoy the prose, it'll be a long boring journey for you.

Certain bits seemed more unrealistic, and after a while you wanted to cut through the development and get to more exciting bits. I really do love development, but for a book like this you have to prepare for long stretches of background and slow plots.

It did get confusing at time with all the time jumps, thought it kept things fresh instead of going in the correct order of events.

Overall it was a lovely book. I would definitely try and prepare for a book solely based off of characters and writing, and less so on intriguing plot lines.