All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. [Ed: Okay, I SWORE this was on the list last year. The review was all prepared, but somehow it isn't on the website. Maybe since I'm the only one who didn't like it, I sabotaged it subconsciously. Anyway, what follows is last year's review:] So many of you mentioned this, I felt compelled to include it - my comments at the end. “This was the most beautiful and moving book I have read in a long, long time. Set in Europe at the time of the WWII, it is a gorgeously written story that follows several different characters including a blind young French girl and a talented German orphan. These characters lived in my mind during the day and I could not wait to get back to them every night to see what would happen to them. This was a book that I could have easily devoured very quickly but I paced myself to extend the pleasure. That almost never happens. Enjoy!”....”I am still carrying in my heart the characters from that book. “....”A beautiful story about a teenage German boy and a teenage French girl who is blind during WWII. The subject matter is not typical of a "beach read," but it's well worth reading nonetheless. Some readers may be put off by the story jumping around in time, though.”....”So beautifully written- the character's stories are so moving and the story builds to gripping and tearful end.”....“Pulitzer Prize winner. Beautifully written. Nice when you can recommend a book to your mother, daughter's, husband, etc. “...."blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II."....“A great read, fascinating way of intertwining characters and time periods. The ending did leave me disappointed (I wanted more) but overall a really powerful, well written story.” [Editor: I thought Doerr’s descriptive prose was amazing, but I didn’t connect with the characters. Unlike others, I *could* put it down, quite easily, and found it kind of a slog.]
