Review: All the light we cannot see

All the Light we cannot see

Review

All the light we cannot see is an emotionally gripping and totally absorbing story, which keep the reader hooked by engaging all the five senses. It's set in the time of world war II, however the story moves in 5 different parts moving back and forth in time describing different scenarios. The theme of the story as evident and interpreted by the name is the untold tragedies of war, the devastation and  loss caused during the WW II. At some point the story questions the reader about the power they have to choose their own destiny. 

The story is divided into 5 parts, and has two stories going in parallel. Werner a bright and inquisitive boy, who dreams of becoming a scientist and quenches his thirst of knowledge by exploring and fixing radio transmitters along with his sister Jutta. He gets a choice to work in mine or dedicate his life to Nazi cause, where he chooses the second one. The story going in parallel to that of Werner's is of Mari Laure. Marie Laure, a clever, sensitive and intuitive girl, who goes blind at the age of six. Her father who is a locksmith at a museum, builds a miniature model of city to train her. Marie Laure in this story has shown to have the eye of mind, which helps her see the world in her own unique way, where she can see all the colours and understand all the intricacies of the world around her. 

The war tragedy brings a drastic change in the life of each individual character, Werner, Jutta, Ettine, Marie Laure, everyone suffers through the consequences of war and most of them lose their close ones during this war.

 

Another theme of the book brought forward is the control of humans over their destiny. Fredrick, who joins the Nazi school out of his sense of responsibility explicitly portrays this theme and gives another aspect to the novel when he tells Werner, "Your problem is that you still believe you own your life." Which indicates human power to choose their destiny or making decisions of life. Fredrick in this book is a face of strength against the wrong, who despite the circumstances denies to participate in the killing of a helpless man.

At the end, All the light we cannot see brings our attention to the lesson of Humanity which bridges the gaps created by differences. It tell us the ways to be good and the fine line between good and bad . Werner who helps Mari Laure and the bond between two is the common example of Humanity.