All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

evih(71)
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This book is set in Germany and France. It is a dual point book about a german boy and a french girl. Werner, the boy, has a talent for fixing literally everything, and he gets accepted into a school where he is trained to be in the Third Reich. Marie, the French girl, is blind. She survives with the help of books.
So I have a mixed vibe about this book. I enjoy how it's told, I like the segmented way that it's told and the way it works slipping between the past and the present. I enjoy historical fiction about WW2 a lot but I'm not sure if I love this book. The characters are enjoyable but the plot itself is weirdly...boring? The part that really bothered me the most is that...It's hard to find fault with this book but I just didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I didn't dislike it. The switching between perspectives and timelines is refreshing and interesting, the characters are likeable, I'm invested in both characters and how they come to coincide in the plot, the prose is crisp and the plot is carefully written. But why didn't I love this?
I literally cannot fault the prose in this book - Anthony Doerr writes like an artist paints. He describes places, movement and describes with gusto. His dialogue is grounded, realistic and flows wonderfully. The plot doesn't flounder even if it's building up to that moment where Marie-Laure and Wurner meet. I enjoyed the post-war chapters about Wurner's sister and even following up on Frederick and his squadmate. So why, why did I not love this book? It felt at times like a chore to get through. I've never in my life experienced what it feels like to read something that is so immaculately crafted but in the end I don't think I enjoyed? I know this might sound hyperbolic but the best way I can explain it is... reading something that you literally cannot put down, something that you are gripped by and absolutely must finish... this book is not that. It's nice but at the same time I was just eager to finish it. My rating is probably 3.5 stars for this book. I totally understand where all the praise comes from though.