Prompt – A book with a character with a visual impairment (a nod to 20/20 vision).
Medium – Book
About the Book – Anthony Doerr writes through the use of short scenes and varying time periods about two young people living through the war years. Marie-Laure is a blind French girl who is living in Paris with her father, the master locksmith at the Museum of Natural History. When the Germans look to be taking control of invade Paris, they flee to St Malo where Marie-Laure’s uncle lives. Without her knowledge, her father carries with him a dangerous and priceless diamond, which is being hunted by Nazi treasure hunters. Werner is a German orphan who has an affinity with maths and all things electrical, especially radios. He becomes an expert in building and fixing radios, and is enlisted to track down those using radios in the resistance. Marie-Laure and Werner’s interweaving lives come together to show that even in the most difficult situations, people can still be good to one another.
My Rating – 8.5/10. This book was in some ways very similar to the non-fiction book about ‘Auntie’s War’, as it covered, in depth, the use of radio and radio transmission in the war and why it was so important. It was interesting having this insight so soon after reading a non-fiction book about radio as it really brought home the uses of radio as well as the risks of using it in war-torn France. The style of the book was really interesting – very different to anything I have read before. Each chapter was sent in a different time period, so you would go between the start or end of the war with every new chapter. As the main action of the story approached, the two timelines ‘met’ as the main characters did. Within each chapter, there were a number of 2-3 page mini-stories, told from the point of view of Werner and Marie-Laure, as well as other characters such as the Nazi treasure hunter, Marie Laure’s dad and Werner’s sister.
As well as a really interesting style, I really liked the two main characters. Marie-Laure was written as brave, clever and resilient – whilst she is blind, she plays an active role in the resistance. Doerr writes her character fantastically – you never forget that she is blind, but she finds ingenious ways around the situations she finds herself in. Werner is completely sympathetic, a fiercely intelligent young man who never fits into the Nazi ideal and who, though sucked in at the beginning, comes more and more to become disenchanted by the Nazi propaganda machine. The ending of the story (without wanting to give any spoilers) was bittersweet and chilling. In particular, the scene at the end of the story with Werner’s sister was particularly harrowing.
Would I read it again? I am not sure. I think it is one of those books you enjoy, but only read once, so will probably be passed on when the charity shops re-open. I’ve also had a bit of a run of Second World War books, so I’m going to try something else for my next read.
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