Amazon Book Description:
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.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 twelve, 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.
My Review:
Tragically beautiful!! I really loved this book, from the first couple pages. The author takes us back in time to WWII with beautiful prose and colorful characters. This was our first pick for my book club and we really enjoyed it. The book takes a unique position on the war, one we really haven't seen before and that kept me turning the pages. When we think of WWII, we tend to paint the German's as the bad guys and everyone else as the hero's, but through Anthony Doerr's novel you see a different side to the war and humanity. I found myself rooting for Werner and Marie, I wanted both of them to make it out alive even though they're on opposite sides of the war.
One of the last lines in the book really hit home for me. How everyday someone who lived through the war dies and we lose their stories forever. When I closed the book, it really made me think about life and how we don't appreciate the little thing. How we get upset when we don't have cell service or if we're in a cafe and there's no wifi. In a world so connected, we've forgotten how to connect to the world around us and learn the untold stories in someone's heart.
If you love historical fiction, I would highly recommend this book. All of the historical details are meticulously researched and beautifully written. If you're looking for your next read, head over to amazon and check this one out. You wont regret it!
Until Next Time!