In the past, films and novels about World War Two have tended to focus on the events and actions of the war, for example, the 1955 film The Dam Busters. With the release of more recent films and novels on the subject, two significant shifts in focus have emerged. The first is the portrayal of the horrors of the War, especially the persecution and extermination by Nazi soldiers of the Jewish population. This is seen in such films as Schindler’s List (1993) and Life is Beautiful (1997). The second and most recent shift is to view the War through the eyes of children and innocent people caught up in the action. This is viewed in the films Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) and The Book Thief (2013). Audiences have also enjoyed exploring small pockets of WWII events in films such as The Monuments Men (2014), which documents the attempted recovery of artworks stolen by the Third Reich.

Among these ‘new’ approaches to texts set in WWII is Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. Doerr’s ability to locate genuine human stories among the rubble of war was well received and All the Light We Cannot See won the prestigious Pulitzer prize in 2015 and was on the New York Times Bestseller List. The unconventional style of many small chapters and two separate protagonists on converging, yet mixed, timelines was praised as well-constructed and engaging. The fable style reflects Jules Vernes’ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and Around the World in 80 Days (1872) which Doerr references in his story.

There is an expectation of the author that the reader has an understanding of key aspects of WWII including the Holocaust, the Russian sieges, the invasion of Paris and the Allied invasion of France. The detail added is that of significant characters who come into focus and the tiny town of Saint-Malo. Saint-Malo plays a significant part in the war, being the setting for much of the novel including the climax, but is lesser known by historians and students. The underestimation of the significance of the bombing of Saint Malo is part of the ‘light that we may not see’.

Doerr draws on his personal fascination with both science and life before immediate communication and weaves these elements into the narrative. Watching a young man’s frustration as his cell phone cuts out mid-conversation reminds Doerr of life before the connected world when communication was not instantaneous. This vacuum of communication was largely broken by the radio, a scientific playground of electronics and waves that does not go unexplored in the novel. Historically significant at the time of WWII, the radio was a source of entertainment and information for most households. Quickly it became a battlefield of itself. Messages of propaganda filled the airways and calls to join the war effort encouraged young men on all sides to enlist. German propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, called the radio a ‘great power’, and approved a mandate in which millions of cheap radio sets were subsidised by the government and distributed to citizens. During the fighting, the radio became a source of resistance for those opposing the Nazi occupation.

Doerr’s scientific interest in the natural world are ever present in the many characters’ attachments to the natural world. His own childhood pastimes of treasure hunting for sea shells and birdwatching on Sanibel Island in Florida is clearly reflected in his characters.

The novel traverses five stages, childhood, new homes, joining the war, Saint-Malo and post-war, and follows two characters, Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig. These stages are presented out of order with the novel starting in medias res, in the middle of things, then jumping back and forward to fill in the action prior to ending with a synopsis of the characters’ fates. The characters’ childhoods show the struggles both children share: Marie-Laure has no mother, Werner has lost both parents.

Marie-Laure is blind through cataracts and lives with her devoted father, Daniel, in Paris. Daniel is a locksmith and works at the National Museum of Natural History. A keen puzzle and model maker, Daniel has constructed a scale model of the surrounding area so that Marie-Laure can memorise streets and landmarks to help her negotiate the world. As the keeper of keys at the museum, Daniel is technically the keeper of the fabled Sea of Flames diamond.

Werner lives in the mining town of Zollverein, Germany. With Germany burdened by the need to produce coal to pay reparations from WWI, the mines are worked all day and staffed by children as young as 15. When Werner turns 15, despite his dreams of becoming a scientist, he starts work in the mines. Werner’s sister, Jutta, lives with him under the care of Frau Elena, a goodhearted French-born woman who teaches the children French and German. This small detail becomes important when Werner finally meets Marie-Laurie. Werner escapes life in the mines when a German officer notices his ability to repair radios.

The pair of protagonists move from childhood to new homes. For Marie-Laure this comes after fleeing from Paris with her father. The intention of their exodus is to deliver the Sea of Flames diamond to a friend of the museum. After discovering the intended recipient missing, they go on to Saint-Malo, home of Marie-Laure’s great Uncle Etienne. Etienne, a veteran of WWI, is a traumatised recluse who lives with a caregiver. While measuring the town to create a new model for Marie-Laure, Daniel is noticed by an informant which leads to his arrest. The Germans confiscate all the radios in the house where Marie-Laure awaits her father’s return. However, one radio is kept in the attic.

Werner’s new home after leaving the orphanage is Schulpforta, an intense training program for elite German youth. It is here that Werner meets his bunkmate, Frederick, a sensitive and wealthy child who eventually is beaten for not conforming with the school’s cruel requirements. Werner also meets Frank Volkheimer, an older cadet with whom he will eventually team up with in the war effort. Recognised for his technical aptitude, Werner is taken under the wing of Dr Hauptman who knows Werner’s talent will be harnessed for the needs of the day: warfare.

Joining the war effort, the protagonist duo will be on opposite sides. Werner is called up to the front after Dr Hauptman amends his age, a sign things aren’t going well for the Germans as they are increasingly relying upon younger soldiers to replace those lost. Marie-Laure joins the French resistance, accompanying Madame Manec on her errands to receive and relay resistance messages. The location of German guns is requested but Etienne is arrested when trying to chart them.

Werner is a part of a special task force locating and terminating resistance radio operators. His unit moves to Saint-Malo to pinpoint Etienne’s transmissions. He hears the transmission but as it reminds him of a radio program he listened to as a child he fails to act with the usual efficiency sparing the operators.

In Saint-Malo, the bombs start falling and the protagonists find themselves trapped. Marie-Laure is trapped in the attic. A German soldier has come to find the Sea of Flames diamond and is in her great-uncle’s house, trapping her in the attic with the contraband radio. Marie-Laure transmits music and science records in hope they will be heard and she may be rescued. In the basement of a bombed hotel, buried in rubble, Werner rebuilds a radio and hears the transmission. Eventually, a desperate use of a grenade frees him and he races to the house to save Marie-Laure. After killing the German seeking the diamond, Werner and Marie-Laure flee.

The novel concludes with a synopsis of the characters post-war. Frank Volkheimer brings Werner’s possessions to Jutta after Werner is killed by a mine shortly after leaving Saint-Malo. Jutta, now married with a child of her own, tracks down Marie-Laure via a visit to Saint-Malo. She returns part of the model to Marie-Laure and they awkwardly reflect on their commonality, despite the war lingering in their immediate minds. When readers leave the novel, Marie-Laure is working for the museum and spending time with her grandson.