All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr, 2014 Read: 11/7/21

It annoys the hell out of me when books/movies/tv shows use bad science. I mentioned this in my review of Atlas Shrugged. And I mention it now because Doerr has done this as part of the premise for All the Light We Cannot See.

One of the main characters, Marie-Laure, goes blind at a young age from "untreatable congenital cataracts". But cataracts were operable with a good chance of success in France starting in 1747. According to All About Vision, congenital cataracts are just as treatable through surgery as the regular kind. This novel takes place in France (and Germany) in the lead up to WWII. Also, Marie's father works for a state museum and they seem to have a reasonable standard of living. Therefore, it should stand to reason that her vision could be restored. No mention is made of any medical treatment or attempts to save her vision.

I'm left to assume therefore that her father, a very intelligent and loving man, just chose to allow his 7 year old daughter to go blind.

This really takes a lot of my attention away from the story the author is building. My brain keeps going, okay but she doesn't need to be blind so... . Is her father cruel? Not as intelligent as suggested? Ignorant of medicine? It damages the story by clouding their relationship (no pun intended!!).

That all said, this novel is largely about science. Thankfully, I don't know anything about radios or I'd have nitpicked all that too.

It is a sad story, as all stories about WWII are. It is gritty and horrible, as all stories about WWII are.

One thing I appreciated about this novel as opposed to many others is that ends are left untied. We don't know what happened to some characters, or how, or why, or when...and that's reality. If your neighbor went missing after being arrested by the SS, you probably wouldn't ever know what actually happened to them. Even if records were kept, which they weren't always, they were lost or destroyed or falsified or or or

As a disabled person, I appreciated Doerr's portrayal of a disabled individual that neither made her a martyr nor a hero. In fact, she talks about how people think she's so "brave" just for being alive, and how she had no other choice. I have had the exact same experiences. I had a pastor once introduce me to a stranger as "an inspiration, such a brave person". Gag. Disabled people aren't brave for being alive. It is incredibly ableist to say this sort of thing. What you're really saying when you say "you're so strong for keeping on with _____ disability" is "If I were you, I'd have killed myself" (which, btw, someone literally said to me once, in those words).

I was sad after reading this. May spend the evening reading Good Omens fanfiction instead of starting the next novel because if the next one is also sad, I'm gonna cry.

Rereadabe: Yes, if you wanna cry twice

Time to Read: uh...about a day and a half - It is like 530 pages in the hardback but most of the chapters are less than two pages. That leaves an awful lot of blank paper

Classic: I don't know. It is very good. Better than most of the books I've read so far on the list. So probably. The definition of "classic" is unclear.