Review: All the Light We Cannot See

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oh hey, it's unpopular opinion time!

Reading this book was a total drainer. It's so over-hyped. For some reason everyone drops their panties for war stories but it's just not my jam. They are honestly all the same to me and with everyone going nuts over this one I thought it might be different but no, it's 500 tedious pages of the same depressing crap.

So we've got this sweet lil blind girl, who's just dealt a rough hand in life. It's her and pops, thick as thieves and full of wonderful imagination to get them through dark times. It's a sweet relationship; I'm not totally heartless! I love creativity and imagination and I love that they can use it for good. So I was totally rooting for them and their naivety. (Watch out for those 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea spoilers, though.)

Then there's Uncle Etienne, who's a bit of a nutter, but a loveable nutter. He's the typical old fuddy duddy whose hardened heart is softened by youthful innocence. And he's tempered by the super positive, also creative Madame Manec, who's basically Jamie Oliver with war rations. So she's pretty handy to have around.

On the other side of the coin, there's little German Werner, who's basically a nerdy coward who does what he's told.

There's also some symbolic story about a valuable gemstone but, honestly, it's a dangled carrot to get you reading yet another war book about how much war sucks. It promises it's gonna be different, tell a unique story, but it's the same message.

Guh.

I really should not read war books. They are too depressing. They prattle on and on and on about life in a war zone - lack of food, bombs all the time, crumbling buildings, fear of soldiers, of being arrested, hiding out etc. I GET IT. I can appreciate that living through that era was absolutely horrific and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But there are so many books that have already told these stories from hundreds of different viewpoints. I'm always willing to try new things and I was fortunate enough to win a copy of this book; I had high hopes for it - I wouldn't have picked it up, otherwise! But there was too much of the same and not enough of the unique to make this an interesting read.

I was grateful for the mercifully short chapters, as it did make it easier to read, but it also made me more surprised at how much the story dragged. I get it: this is not a book for people who want a good story. This is a book for people who like to linger over prose, who like to build scenes complete with scent, sight, taste, touch etc. For people who are happy to just sit and feel for 500-odd pages. Me? I need a decent story to actually keep me going. This just wasn't it for me.

There's also a ton of symbolism so everyone who gets that is bound to come away feeling like an intellectual for enjoying this book with all its mighty metaphors.

I think a big part of the appeal of this novel is just its realism. It doesn't go out of its way to have happy endings and surprising mercies, it just straight up tells a story that very realistically could have happened. There are no heroes. I actually appreciated that Werner was a spineless coward, even if it meant I didn't like him as a character. I think he was such an important element to the story, because he does paint the picture on the other side. It does make you think about the people behind the atrocities of the era.

I mean, I really do get it.

I understand WHY people enjoyed this book so immensely, because I can see the care that went into writing it. I can see the point behind the structure, I see the symbolism, I see the hidden meanings and the brutal messages. I see it, I acknowledge it, I appreciate it for what it achieved. It just was not my cup of tea. The story was bland. It took two pages to make a really mundane point, then gave away a massive plot development with a careless sentence. I also hate reading present tense, so that was never going to help.

If you're into war stories, you'll love it. If you love literary fiction that takes pages to make a point, you'll love it. If you love feeling more than actually being entertained, you'll love it. If you love feeling super smart because you get vague references and symbolism, you'll love it. And if you love getting caught up by mainstream opinion, you'll love it.

If you want a decent story that strays away from the suckiness of war, though, look elsewhere.

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