If you like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, you’ll love All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr! Both novels are stunningly poetic creations by authors who approach the concept of war in similar (yet uniquely striking) ways. Both Zusak and Doerr have managed to expertly weave the dualities of war in a heart-wrenching exploration of innocence, grief, hatred, hope, passion, fear and courage. I can guarantee that both of these books will stay with you long after you turn the final page.
– Jess, Strathpine QBD
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr:
When Marie Laure goes blind, aged six, her father builds her a model of their Paris neighborhood, so she can memorize it with her fingers and then navigate the real streets. But when the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, is enchanted by a crude radio. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent ultimately makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak:
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times.
When Liesel’s foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel’s world is both opened up, and closed down. The Book Thief is a story about the power of words to make worlds.
