All the Light We Cannot See (Review by AmberBug)

All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr 5 / 5	Published 2014 First Sentence "At dusk they pour from the sky."
Publisher's Description: Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is 12, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.
Dear Reader, I adored this book, my favorite of the year... I just wish I had picked it up sooner. Brace yourself for some book gushing because I'll be giving this one loads of love in this review. First of all, I have to mention that ATLWCS is ridiculously quotable. I think I highlighted more than any other book I've read before (highlighted in my Kindle... don't get all book righteous on my butt). Almost every quote I highlighted got the wheels in my head turning, it was hard to turn them off the entire time I was reading. "Does a bee know it's going to die if it stings somebody?" is a perfect example... how can that not make you think? Maybe I should back up a little and give you a little background on the book. I'll make it brief since you can pretty much read the plotline in the description above. The book follows two main plotlines, Marie-Laure who suddenly goes blind and has to learn how to navigate with help from her father. We also get the perspective of Nazi Germany through the eyes of Werner, a radio expert who joins up with the Hitler youth. The story is built perfectly between these two and gives such a great balance of what it was like during the WWII from both sides, I'm not sure it could be done any better. I'll admit that I was a little more attached to Marie-Laure, her backstory intrigued me and it was hard not to love such a courageous little girl overcoming the terrible challenges that sudden blindness comes with. Her story was filled with heart, I fell in love with her Father and his loving but stern ways he taught her to be self efficient and overcome her disability. We get to follow as she learns to navigate the town and slowly gain her self worth in order to survive in this challenging reality. Going back to quotes, Doerr does this thing I love, he will use direct related quotes to have overall meanings and tie into many themes throughout the story. "Open your eyes, concludes the man, and see what you can before they close forever." This brings me to my absolute favorite part of the book, the way the Author intertwined the story Marie-Laure gets for her birthday "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" into the characters and plot of the ATLWCS. It was this section that caused me to cry, her reading this book to the boy trapped underground (all the while the characters in Twenty Leagues are also trapped to die under the sea), it was completely emotional and heartbreaking. I haven't cried from a book (especially from a non-character death) in a very long time, and this one did me in. I'm not going to say if any characters live or die, but I didn't cry because of a death... I cried because of the emotion behind that one scene. I must have really been attached to Marie-Laure and her book because I HAVE to talk about it again. This is the first book (I've read) that introduces Braille and goes into such detail, on how it feels to read one and the differences between books. I find it fascinating that Braille can vary in style, if the words are spaced apart too far or too close, which is relatable to someone adjusting to reading in a different font. Marie-Laure mentions the change from one of her books, "The French feels old-fashioned, the dots printed much closer together than she is used to". I really should mention the other narrative following Werner, I did enjoy this side of the story quite a bit too. It challenges you to look at the other side of the war (the side everyone hates) and see it from the perspective of a level headed orphan boy trying to survive. This boy is super intelligent and has a way with electronics (specifically radios), his expertise in this lands him an unspeakable spot amongst the elite German youth serving for Hitler. At first you think, there is no way this super smart kid would fall for the stupidity behind the mentality of the Nazi party. Slowly, you begin to realize that the perks and reasoning may have been more enticing than you would think, you start to sympathize with those pressured to join and arm themselves with this mentality. What I like about Werner is that he gets sucked into the group with promises of rewarding work with his love of radios, but he learns throughout his journey the true nature of the regime. All the Light We Cannot See teaches us how special things truly are and how we realize this when we don't have them anymore. This is shown with Marie-Laure and coping without sight, Werner and his relationship with his sister, the mundane life Marie and her father lead in the museum, listening to a radio show that is now banned, and so much more. In the face of loss though, each character stays afloat both in mind and body, which is very encouraging for the reader to experience. I have to admit, after spending the time of getting my thoughts down on the blog, it makes me want to re-read this very badly. I haven't been so touched by a book in quite awhile, and I imagine this book will last and have an impression on me for a long time. I highly suggest you read this, I can't express my love for this book enough. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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All the Light We Cannot See

All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr 5 / 5	Published 2105 First Sentence "At dusk they pour from the sky."
Publisher's Description: Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is 12, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.
Dear Reader, If there ever was something close to the perfectly crafted novel for me, this was it. What an amazing reading experience. Doerr writes beautiful, tender, empathetic prose which unwinds the story with the ideal blend of detail and pacing. I won't soon forget this gem of a book, most particularly for the way it humanized the German side of the war experience as much as the more sympathetic one. I adored the way the two stories unfolded towards one another, like the flattening of Max's paper planes, until their edges just touched. The rich descriptions of wartime Europe struck me on every page, and I was impressed with how well Doerr wrote the entire experience of Marie-Laure's world from the blind girl's four remaining senses. Every experience of the characters was felt by the reader. The little touches were what really got to me: Werner's childhood interest in radios (told in truly believable detail), Marie-Laure's passion for sea creatures (based upon reading Jules Verne at an impressionable age),  Frederik's obession with birds (to the exclusion of almost all else). The miniature cities which Monsieur Le Blanc builds for his daughter, incorporating clever locking mechanisms from his own talents. The hermit, the orphan sister, the housekeeper, the baker's wife, the giant: all carried so vividly through the page, with their own foibles and cares. I wondered often why Doerr chose 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as his parallel text, as it were. Is it because the Le Blancs ultimately ended up living on the edge of Atlantic? Is it because echoes of the maniacal Captain Nemo perhaps could be spotted in Hitler? Was it because there was adventure in exploration, and Marie-Laure needed to learn to embrace it rather than fear it? I am still trying to figure that out, but I think the choice was a great one. The snippets of the Verne work scattered throughout the Doerr novel were well-placed and sometimes surprisingly appropriate. I feel like I can't say it more succinctly or more poetically than this paragraph I stumbled across from Booklist: "A novel to live in, learn from, and feel bereft over when the last page is turned, Doerr's magnificently drawn story seems at once spacious and tightly composed. . . . Doerr masterfully and knowledgeably re-creates the deprived civilian conditions of war-torn France and the strictly controlled lives of the military occupiers." —Brad Hooper,Booklist, April 15, 2014 You may have already heard a lot about this novel; it is certainly getting talked about. And deservedly so. I plan to press this into the hands of everyone I know. Or maybe even those I don't know. Yours, Arianna

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Gretel and the Dark

Gretel and the Dark Eliza Granville 4.5 / 5	Published 2014 First Sentence "It is many years before the Pied Piper comes back for the other children."
Publisher's Description: A captivating and atmospheric historical novel about a young girl in Nazi Germany, a psychoanalyst in fin-de-siècle Vienna, and the powerful mystery that links them together. Gretel and the Dark explores good and evil, hope and despair, showing how the primal thrills and horrors of the stories we learn as children can illuminate the darkest moments in history, in two rich, intertwining narratives that come together to form one exhilarating, page-turning read. In 1899 Vienna, celebrated psychoanalyst Josef Breuer is about to encounter his strangest case yet: a mysterious, beautiful woman who claims to have no name, no feelings—to be, in fact, a machine. Intrigued, he tries to fathom the roots of her disturbance. Years later, in Nazi-controlled Germany, Krysta plays alone while her papa works in the menacingly strange infirmary next door. Young, innocent, and fiercely stubborn, she retreats into a world of fairy tales, unable to see the danger closing in around her. When everything changes and the real world becomes as frightening as any of her stories, Krysta finds that her imagination holds powers beyond what she could ever have guessed. Rich, compelling, and propulsively building to a dizzying final twist, Gretel and the Dark is a testament to the lifesaving power of the imagination and a mesmerizingly original story of redemption.
Dear Reader, A beautiful, haunting, unique book. A fascinating new take on World War II, mixed with the more sinister world of fairy tales (definitely not the Disney brand!).  Gorgeous writing with an ethereal feel to the whole thing, although it is also decidedly rooted in the horrors and everyday realities of WWII. The book alternates storytelling between two very different viewpoints and times: the first being a Viennese psychoanalyst (and those he interacts with) at the end of the 19th century, and the other being a young girl in 1940s Germany. The two stories seem to almost overlap, while at the same time remaining decisively distinct; the reader doesn't learn until the end of the book how the two are related. I don't have a lot to say about this book; the characters weren't terribly likable, but the story was so beautifully written. It felt like reading a fairy tale. Oh! I did have one thing I wanted to commend the author on: the "translations" were so well done. See, for me, reading a book that throws in a language with which I am unfamiliar (which is all of them, outside of English and French!), while lending the story more color and weight, also makes me feel like perhaps I am missing something important whenever I skim across a foreign word or phrase. However, this author did a wonderful job of guiding the reader to the meaning, working the English equivalent into a character's response, or some other almost invisible echo of the original phrase. I was thoroughly charmed by this whenever I caught the author at it, which was every time a foreign phrase was used (because I always itch to learn its meaning). So, Ms. Granville, well done on that count! Unrelated but also interesting, here are two wonderful and thought-provoking quotes from the book: "To take a man's life is not an easy thing--" "It's the easiest thing in the world," said Lilie. "It's much easier than giving birth. And considerably quicker."  and "It's easy to become a father, but being one is rather harder." (an aphorism) In this book, I loved how we were able to view Nazi Germany through a child's eyes, one who clearly didn't understand what was going on around her. Krysta made up fantastical stories to explain the strange behavior of those around her, to rationalize what she was experiencing. I also liked how this book circles back not once, but twice upon itself - repeating almost verbatim a few passages so that the reader is brought back full force to the place they began. I enjoyed that odd approach to the old in medias res.  A final note: It's easy to think that WWII has already been "done" in every way possible. This book proves that is far from true. Yours, Arianna P.S. I am, coincidentally, currently reading two other WWII books which are doing things differently - Code Name Verity and All the Light We Cannot See. More on those soon!

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Life After Life (review by AmberBug)

Life After Life Kate Atkinson 4/5	Published 2013 First Sentence "A fug of tobacco smoke and damp clammy air hit her as she entered the cafe."
Publisher's Description: On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born, the third child of a wealthy English banker and his wife. Sadly, she dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in any number of ways. Clearly history (and Kate Atkinson) have plans for her: In Ursula rests nothing less than the fate of civilization. Wildly inventive, darkly comic, startlingly poignant — this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best, playing with time and history, telling a story that is breathtaking for both its audacity and its endless satisfactions.
Dear Reader, I have been waiting to read this book ever since Arianna wrote a glowing review of it (check it out). I'm glad she convinced me to read the book, because I really enjoyed it. I thought the idea of reading someone living life over and over again would get annoying, but the Author makes very good use with repeating subjects (hardly at all) and jumping through time (skipping long bits to catch us up). I really appreciated the timeline of the story and the delicacy in which she traveled on it. Ursula, the main character, is the one who ends up living her life over multiple times... giving her the chance to set things right and change her future/history. In the beginning life, she is strangled by her umbilical cord, making her first life very short and tragic. Whenever Ursula dies, the "black bat of darkness" comes and then snow falls (Arianna points out the symbolism of that in her review). The remarkable thing surrounding each life, is that she gets to change her situation (sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse). I loved the anticipation of the "do-over" that you started to realize was coming. My one gripe revolves around this as well though, I kept reading a little too quickly... anxious to get to the next part. This might be my own problem though, I get overly curious and anxious sometimes and this can be detrimental when reading a book that needs you to stay in the "here and now" without looking to what might be ahead. I don't think this is a universal problem and it probably didn't have the same effect on others reading this book. When something went "wrong" in her current life, I was just focused on what she would do to fix it in the "next" life. Smartly, the Author doesn't make Ursula's memory of her past lives clear cut. Each time she comes across an event that was troublesome in her past life, she has a feeling (almost like a dream) that something should be done about it but she doesn't really know why. The vague cloud of memory is a nice touch and might have been my favorite small detail to the crazy idea behind reincarnation (if you'd call it that). I loved the way the story progressed (even if it had me wanting to jump ahead), each life was unique and Ursula had fantastically unusual experiences in all of them. One of my favorite moments was when she rescues (more than once) a dog she dubs "lucky" from a building about to come down. I almost wished there would be more to the dog and the connection they might have shared. Alas, he plays a very small part but still won my heart over. I also liked how in each different life, she seemed to have different connections with her siblings, the situations changing the closeness she felt with different ones. In one life, she was best friends with her sister, Pamela (told her absolutely everything), while in another life... her younger brother was the one she constantly turned to. I found that fascinating, the turns and bends through life becoming waves that change small things but effect the larger picture (such as sibling relationships). To sum up my thoughts on this book, I loved reading it. Atkinson has a beautiful way with words and she thinks outside of the box (a value I absolutely love). I wish I could have slowed things down a bit, my anticipation got to me and I found myself on edge too many times. Again, this is my own silly personality and I shouldn't fault the book for this. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes to read thoughtful literary novels with beautiful writing. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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Skeletons at the Feast

Skeletons at the Feast Chris Bohjalian 4 / 5	Published 2008 First Sentence "The girl--a young woman, really, eighteen, hair the color of corn silk--had been hearing the murmur of artillery fire for two days now."
Publisher's Description: In January 1945, in the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from Warsaw to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines. Among the group is eighteen-year-old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war who was brought from the stalag to her family’s farm as forced labor. And there is a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, who the pair know as Manfred–who is, in reality, Uri Singer, a Jew from Germany who managed to escape a train bound for Auschwitz. As they work their way west, they encounter a countryside ravaged by war. Their flight will test both Anna’s and Callum’s love, as well as their friendship with Manfred–assuming any of them even survive.  Perhaps not since The English Patient has a novel so deftly captured both the power and poignancy of romance and the terror and tragedy of war. Skillfully portraying the flesh and blood of history, Chris Bohjalian has crafted a rich tapestry that puts a face on one of the twentieth century’s greatest tragedies–while creating, perhaps, a masterpiece that will haunt readers for generations.
Dear Reader, Yet again, this was an audiobook I stumbled across on my library's Overdrive site.  I had read some Chris Bohjalian before (and enjoyed it - Trans-Sister Radio - he's so good at making you think, and look at issues from all sides), and my sister is a big fan of his as well, so given the description, I figured I'd give this one a shot.  I was surprised to read on Goodreads that many people were shocked and disgusted by the graphic nature of this novel, but I did not find it to be sensational - just very real.  Granted, I don't know what actually went on during WWII, as I was lucky enough not to witness it, but from the accounts which I've heard before, the atrocities which Bohjalian describes are truly disturbing but not unrealistic.  He didn't want to shock people, just tell the story. The book begins by following several different people in various wartime situations: Cecile, who is a concentration camp prisoner; Callum, who is a Scottish POW in Germany; Anna, a young German girl who grew up on a beet farm which belonged at different times to Germany and to Poland; and Uri, who is a Jewish German who escaped the trains and lives his life on the run, taking on various personas (Nazi soldier, Russian soldier, or simply melting out of sight) as need be, in order to survive. I found it fascinating to read WWII from the German-citizen side, which is something you don't hear a lot about.  The reader got to watch the Germans start off as strong Hitler supporters (the dictator brought Anna's farm, which had been part of the annexation of Poland, back into Germany, and thus was a hero to many citizens in the east), and then as they began to recognize what was going on.  There were definitely atrocities on both sides of the war, too many to count - and there were good people who had morals no matter what, and bad people who took advantage of their power.  The book explored all sides of the war and of its effects on the people - it was particularly interesting to hear about the long march west that many German citizens made, as they fled from the invading Russians in the last few months of the war.  Their journeys were perilous: most suffered awfully, many died.  This was another aspect of the war I'd not encountered much of before now, so it was good to read about and get yet another perspective on the awful, worldwide conflict. One of the parts that stuck out for me was when the Emmerich family stopped at a family friend's house during their difficult trek east.  They came across women who were certain they were safe from harm, and who lived in an insulated little bubble that had thus far managed to escape the war entirely.  I found that part to be touching and terrifying at once.  Those poor, proud women - to think what must have happened to them once the Emmerichs left and the Russians arrived. I am glad I read this, and I would recommend it, despite that there were some parts that made me gasp in horror as I listened to the narrator read them.  Oh, and one last thing I think I should add: this is the narrator who read one of my favorite books from 2013, The Orchardist.  I think he is a wonderful reader, and having him "come back" for this book might have made me enjoy it even more than I would have otherwise.  I think perhaps he can make any book sound very well-written, even more than they already are! Happy reading, Arianna P.S. I had read before but forgotten that this was a work of fiction but based on real diaries kept from the war.  Wow.

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