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WINNER OF THE 2015 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR FICTION A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II 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. Ten years in the writing, ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE is his most ambitious and dazzling work.

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, a breathtaking and poignant novel by Anthony Doerr, is a story that illuminates the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable darkness.

Set in war-torn Europe during World War II, the narrative follows two extraordinary characters: Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl, and Werner Pfennig, a young German soldier. Marie-Laure, along with her father, a locksmith, flees Paris for the coastal town of Saint-Malo as the Nazi occupation tightens its grip on France. Werner, a talented radio operator, is drawn into the war, eager to serve his country.

Their paths intertwine when Werner stumbles upon a hidden radio transmitter, operated by Marie-Laure and her father, that broadcasts messages of hope and resistance to the French people. As the war intensifies, Marie-Laure and Werner find their lives entangled in a intricate web of love, loss, and survival.

Marie-Laure, with her extraordinary memory and resourcefulness, embarks on a perilous journey to deliver a priceless gem, the Sea of Flames, to a safe haven. Along the way, she encounters a diverse cast of characters, including a reclusive locksmith, a kind-hearted smuggler, and a group of freedom fighters.

Werner, haunted by the atrocities he witnesses, grapples with his own moral compass and the inherent contradictions of war. His encounters with Marie-Laure's transmissions and the kindness of ordinary people challenge his beliefs and force him to confront the devastating consequences of his actions.

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE is a tapestry of courage, compassion, and resilience, woven through the lives of ordinary people caught in the maelstrom of war. Doerr's evocative and immersive writing style transports readers to the heart of the story, capturing the intricate details of a world teetering on the brink of collapse.

With breathtaking prose, Doerr illuminates the extraordinary in the ordinary, revealing the hidden connections that bind us together even in the darkest of times. ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE is a tour de force, a novel that will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.