by Anthony Doerr
Blog written by Meredith
This wonderful book is the 2014 Pulitzer Prize winner for a reason.
Richly researched and beautifully constructed with well developed characters in a sobering setting, this book was a definite crowd pleaser.
Probably our highest rating book of the year with at least half our book club members giving it 9+ out of ten.
It took the author 10 years to write this book, benefiting from an enormous amount of research.
The compelling tale of young French blind girl weaves its way along the tale of her German counterpart, a young orphaned German boy who rises from the Orphanage to the specialist army radio unit, their paths converging in the bombardment of St. Malo, albeit brief but memorable.
A truly compelling journey that will delight you and sadden you at the same time. All the characters are superbly developed with both sides of the war coming to life with empathy and understanding.
Some of our club suggested that had there been a more feminine influence in the world perhaps there would have been a better outcome, or was it just a case of universal human nature?
Nobody was too sure about the subplot of the Sea of Flames. This story of the precious stone may have seemed a bit strange at first but it was generally agreed that it added to the magic of the story. The fact that Werner threw the stone into the sea, keeping Marie Laure’s model instead was heartwarming, showing what really mattered in life.
My dear friend Stacy gave me this book because she thought I would enjoy it.
I loved it so much I put it up for the bookclub who loved it too!
Our average rating for this book is 9.2/10
They described it as brilliant, moving, interesting, thought provoking, delicately written and beautifully constructed.
Personally, I think it was a standout!
Our next meeting is on Thursday Oct 15 at Robyn's and the book we will be discussing is Your Voice in My Head : A Memoir by Emma Forest
Sharon's comments :
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautifully written book and somewhat unexpected for a World War 2 novel.
Portraying the effects of war on children is an interesting perspective and Anthony Doerr has made his 2 main characters of Marie-Laure and Werner very sympathetic.
The way he writes really draws you into the many facets of each character and I find myself really caring about what happens to them. As I do the other children in the story - Jutta the feisty sister, Frederick the bullied kid, Volkheimer the Giant.
The radio plays a big part in the story and it is quite amazing how the human spirit can be nourished by beautiful music like Clair de Lune, by Marie-Laure reading Jules Verne or simply short snippets of news of someone’s birth.
Lee's comments :
ReplyDeleteThe novel is beautifully constructed with the layering of the stories of
the two main characters one chapter after another. A fascinating
building up of their lives and circumstances. The relationship of
Marie-Laure and her father and the dramatic changes in their lives is
superbly detailed. At times as the reader, you seem to be feeling your
way too through the museum and the city, both Paris and St Malo.
Although of course it is impossible to really understand blindness. In
contrast the life of Werner goes from bad to worse, from the orphanage to
the special school and finally the army. An interesting study of the
indoctrination and brain washing of German youth under the Nazi regime.
I just saw a film "13 Minutes" which also shows how the ordinary people
and the youth so easily came under the Nazi spell, although the subject
matter is entirely different. Werner's sister, the cynical Jutta, is a
refreshing contrast to the zombie like Hitler Youth, as is Frederick, a
tragic lonely figure tormented by his class mates and supposed comrades.
Some chapters were so dramatic and tense that I was on the edge of my
seat reading as the evil von Rumpel stalks the house. Plus the awful
scene of the rape of Jutta and Madame Elena and the girls by the
Russians. It was a very emotional read as well as being a page turning
thriller. The Sea of Flames plot at first seemed like an Indiana Jones
type diversion but did add to the narrative if not to the overall
literary style of the book. Doer's descriptive writing too was subtle
but intense, capturing all the nuances of the landscape, light, sea and
the people.
One of the best books I have read this year, definitely a NINE maybe add
on another half!