Anthony Doerr in the shelf-rattling novel All the Light we Cannot See tells the story of World War 2 through the eyes of two characters. Each chapter alternates between a girl named Marie-Laure, a scared and clueless blind girl who is French, and a boy named Werner, who is enlisted in the Nazi forces at the age of 12. By doing this, the author shows two sides of the same war, one of the French and one of the Germans. The way the author writes and portrays the book is unique, and just the idea of telling it from two perspectives is my favorite part of the novel. This writing style leads to unique perspectives of the war, but it also confuses the reader at times. Anthony Doerr tells the story of France through the eyes of an improbable girl. …show more content…
Werner grew up in an orphanage with his sister. Due to his knowledge of radios and technology, he is brought to Germany to assist the Nazi’s with technology. I personally don’t like this character. Doerr attempts to use him as a symbol for Germany, but it just comes across as a smart kid who becomes a nazi. I don’t understand why the author used this type of character to represent Germany. I do understand that it’s supposed to represent how after WW1, Germany was heavily damaged and hurt from the war, much like Werner was during his time in the orphanage. As such, when he’s brought to Germany, it’s supposed to be like Germany’s “return to the top” via the second war. However, the author stresses that Werner doesn’t enjoy being in the German forces. He prefers and misses the life he had with his sister in the orphanage. The overall idea of using children to represent different countries during the war is a great idea and something that I haven’t heard of before. For example, the other uses Marie-Laure’s friend to represent the United States, as she is hesitant to join any sort of resistance to the Germans, much like the US was hesitant to join world war 2. Furthermore, when Etienne’s family is murdered she joins a resistance, much like the US joined the war after Pearl Harbor. I loved this part of the book, I’ve always enjoyed history and learning it in different ways. Although I enjoy Anthony Doerr’s novel All the Light We Cannot See, it is far from perfect and not well represented by its