Book Review: All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr brilliantly stitches together the final fragments of World War II much the same way Dr. Frankenstein did to his subject. The sutures are large and misshapen. The tattered pieces are sewn at angles. But the net effect is a dying monster whose wounds are knitted with fear, punishment, power, pain and, yes, even love. In the end it is about a faithful blind girl, her loyal and loving father, a boy of talent and wonder and the pursuit of a cursed but extraordinarily rare diamond. Set in Saint-Malo, France, Doerr’s tale is simply ingenious.