Tutta la luce che non vediamo (2014)

I thought I had hit maximum capacity for books about WWII last year (even though most of them were excellent reads, like the Book Thief and the English Patient), but apparently I hadn't hit the limit yet since I was fully capable of enjoying this novel.

Much in the same vein as the Book Thief, our protagonists are young and come from rather unique backgrounds. Marie-Laure is the blind daughter of a museum's locksmith from Paris and Werner is an orphaned German boy with a talent for mathematics and mechanics, who must survive very different experiences of the war to be brought together by Marie-Laure's great grandfather's radio at the very finale of the war. Doerr's unlikely choice of both of these characters is one which I'm sure will not go unnoticed by readers of this genre, as he strikes a careful balance between the novelty of something new and a well-researched historical reality to carve out a unique space within the larger narrative of WWII.

What I enjoyed most (and was equally horrified by) was Doerr's choice to place Werner into the machinery of the Nazi state that trains young boys to be soldiers. The stark brutality of the training camps is even more extreme in its treatment of its wards than modern camps since it is intensely obvious that these children are being brainwashed to believe only in the power of the State and to carry out brutal acts (even against each other) in its service. Some are there at the will of their parents and others like Werner are there at the will of the State due to their physical or mental potential, with all forces (excepting for Werner) in agreement that this training is the best possible place for these children to be.

Marie-Laure's experience seems much more light-hearted in comparison -she is surrounded by family and takes on the risk of being a partisan of her own volition - but her survival becomes perilous when we become privy to the fact that the diamond that her father was responsible for safekeeping is now in her possession. Her foe is a former jeweller turned Nazi commander who's task it is to oversee the collection (read: theft) of Europe's cultural wealth in the form of paintings, statues, gold, and of course jewels. The supposedly cursed diamond is one which may or not be based on any real-life jem, but the Nazi commander certainly is since it was a major initiative of Hitler's to plunder Europe for all its cultural wealth for "safekeeping" under the hand of the Third Reich. ( )

This multi-layered, tightly written, emotionally laden novel is one of the best I’ve read. It’s the story of Werner Pfennig, a gifted German boy and Marie-Laure, who cannot see.

The narrative spans the inter-war years and Occupied France, described in meticulous detail in words that transport you to that time. Marie-Laure is six years old when the novel begins in Paris in 1934, where she lives with her father, a locksmith and keeper of the keys at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Two hundred years ago an accursed diamond with a red hue at its centre, the Sea of Flame, was hidden in the muséum. The gem has magical qualities, about which a German officer learns and he makes it his quest to find it which adds an interesting layer to the narrative and contributes to the tension.

Marie-Laure is blind and her father makes puzzles and miniatures of the streets and houses of Paris so she can navigate the city. One miniature plays a key and consistent part in the novel.

While Marie-Laure is learning to find her way around, orphans Werner Pfennig and his sister Jutta are growing up in the German mining town of Zollverein, near Essen. Werner is seven when the novel begins and already his gift for science and the intricacies of radios is clear. The Nazis realize his talent, and they send him to a National Political Institute of Education, indoctrination schools for German boys. The experience severely tests Werner’s morality by the horrific bullying of his friend Frederick.

When the Nazis invade France in June 1940, Marie-Laure and her father escape Paris and take refuge in Saint-Malo, on Brittany’s coast, where he becomes involved with the Resistance. He brought the Sea of Flame with him.

The Nazi’s put Werner's genius to work to fight the resistance in Nazi occupied counties. His task is to track radio transmissions throughout Russia and Central Europe, and ultimately Saint-Malo, where Marie Laure's great uncle and Resistance member Etienne uses his radio transmitter.

As the Allies' advance, the Sea of Flame pursuit continues and Werner and Marie-Laure are brought together.

Anthony Doerr portrays his characters and the horror of Nazism and the Second World War in brilliant detail. The short-tightly written chapters, coupled with expert handling of conflict and tension, make for a page-turning and rewarding read. ( )

Yawn. ( )

It took me a while to get into the story, but I really liked it. Even the ending. (#17: a novel that won the Pullitzer.)

If it weren't for starting with a free sample of this novel on my Kindle, I would never have chosen to read about WWII. But the poetic, skillful descriptions and development of the characters pulled me in right away, and I was hooked. The story amazed me with its exquisitely sensitive contrasts between life's beauty and war. You keep flipping pages to find out what happens to the two young main characters. And you alternate between feeling hopeful and heartbroken, grateful you are not in such a country, such circumstances. I'll never forget this story. ( )