Book Review

I just finished the book "All the Light We Can Not See" by Anthony Doerr.  The book is set in Europe during World War II. 

This book does not deal with military tactics or battle strategies or the lives of soldiers. The basic focus is on two characters: one a young boy who is eventually recruited into Hitler's Youth and ultimately the German army. The other character is a young, blind french girl. 

What the reader sees is a unique view of what it must have been like to have been a soldier on 'the other side' and what it was like living in an occupied country. 

Events jump back and forth from 1940 to 1945 which some readers said they found confusing but to me  it made perfect sense in terms of what the author was trying to do. 

Eventually the lives of the two main characters merge as the war comes to an end.

The strength of this book is in the many characters the reader meets.  The take away is that World War Two (and by extension all other wars) touched everyone.  No one escapes.

This is one of the best 'war' books I've ever read.  I highly recommend it.