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BOOK REVIEW
All the light we cannot see:
A novel worthy of a Pulitzer
by Ruvindra Sathsarani
On Monday,
April 20, it was announced that the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction had been
awarded to the novel ‘All the Light We cannot See’. This year’s other
short-listed finalists included Richard Ford’s ‘Let Me Be Frank With
You’, ‘Laila Lalami’s ‘The Moor’s Account’ and Joyce Carol Oates’
Lovely, Dark, Deep’.
 Anthony Doerr, the writer of ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ was in
Paris when the news reached him. It’s a funny coincidence that when the
prize was announced the writer was sitting in Paris, eating ice cream
with his son and his novel also unfolds in Paris during the second world
war.
The Novel
Doerr has a unique mastery of language in writing historical fiction.
He is very careful in his extraction of details. The novel published in
2014 topped the New York Times Bestselling List as soon as it reached
the reading public. It was the beautiful title of the book that made me
read this novel. The title gives us the idea that it’s about ‘light’ but
that light is shadowed by the darkness brought about by war. The story
takes us to different war-torn areas from Paris to Germany.
There
is the little heroine Marie-Laure who lives in Paris with her father.
She is blind but with her father’s help learns how to find her own way.
Her father, a locksmith builds small structures of Paris for her to
learn the roads and places.
Their survival during the Nazi occupation of France is portrayed with
their suffering and little Marie-Laure’s timid silhouette appears to the
reader walking through the streets in Paris, lost and alone. With Marie-Laure’s
story, the writer brings out another parallel story of a German boy,
Werner. He is innovative and intelligent. The two stories develop
together in a bildungsroman (a coming-of-age story) style. Werner is
ambitious and has a unique hand in electronics.
This talent leads him to one of the best military schools in Germany
where he witnesses the struggles of many fellow students. The invention
of the radio and signals and its impact on the people during the first
few years are also brought out giving the reader interesting historical
details.
The two main characters move in different circles with the same fears
clogged inside their hearts and along with the war they grow up.
Marie-Laure’s survival from the war makes her one of the bravest
female characters in the world of fiction while Werner’s sudden death
would leave any reader aghast and heartbroken.
Doerr’s style of writing
It was no surprise when Doerr won Pulitzer for this novel. The story
is historical fiction at its best. It’s a true page turner with a lot of
twists.
Doerr doesn’t waste his time giving broad descriptions. He is very
economical in his usage of words and imagery. But still retains a superb
poetic touch is in his words. Small chapters separately give us the two
stories of the two characters.
The reader’s curiosity is quenched only when the two characters
finally meet in the end. But within minutes of their encounter, a much
loved character Werner, faces his death.
Doerr presents three time periods which allows the reader to compare
and contrast the lives of the characters and the changes inflicted on
them by war.
The time before the Nazi occupation of France, during the occupation
and its aftermath.This is the type of novel that you would re-read
several times and recommend to every reader. It is a true exploration to
life and how the struggle to live becomes the greatest concern when
death becomes the greatest fear.
(The writer is a Creative Writer and an undergraduate of English
Literature).
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