All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr transported me into World War II in a way I didn't expect by showing me the war through the experiences of two characters as they were pulled into circumstances beyond their control by their abilities and their inabilities. Doerr creates a fictional world based on a real world event that pushes the reader to cheer when they don't want to and jeer when they don't want to because his characters are so easy to identify with. He humanizes people and shows how easily people can be manipulated to do things they find unimaginable and the all too real effects from committing acts that go against one's conscience. Doerr writes in a way that makes it easy to suspend one's disbelief in areas where the story takes on fantastical airs. His characters are so real, I hurt with them, laughed with them, and wished with them even as I grew frustrated with them, admonished them, and pushed them to make different decisions. All through All the Light We Cannot See is the tapestry of the effects of war that are visited upon peoples and places for generation upon generation.  All the Light We Cannot See reveals its many layers through the characters interactions and the threat looming in the distance but always drawing nearer.

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