"All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel"

"When the Day of Judgment dawns and people, great and small, come marching in to receive their heavenly rewards, the Almighty will gaze upon the mere bookworms and say to Peter, 'Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them. They have loved reading.'"

-Virgina Woolf


Today is Friday, November 21, 2014, and it has turned out to be another cold day here in North Carolina. I suppose that "cold" is relative when you consider the cold temps that my parents, in-laws, and son are experiencing in Kentucky and Ohio. We once lived in cold country in Upstate New York, but I don't know if my blood could adjust to that again. - I've gotten used to the moderate temperatures of North Carolina. The sun shines more often than not here, and that's a good thing. It's not unusual for there to be a traffic standstill on the Durham Freeway at 7:15 am because the drivers must face the sun and they slow down because they are blinded by the sunlight. I think it's pretty funny. Nevertheless, this week has been a very cold week for us compared to the normal temps before Thanksgiving. Our first propane tank of the season was delivered late yesterday, so I look forward to using the propane fireplace a lot this weekend.




Last week I wrote about two books that I had read: The Boys in the Boat and Beautiful Eyes: A Father Transformed. I recommend both of these books for the non-fiction reader who enjoys a good story as well as one that inspires and urges us to become better people. The book that I am currently reading is a historical novel, All the Light We Cannot see: A Novel, by Anthony Doerr. Once again I found myself selecting a book that is set in Europe during World War II. This year I've read several books about this historical period that changed the world forever. And each time that I've read one of these, I've seen World War II from a slightly different perspective. Prior to this year, I didn't really think much about how Hitler and the Nazis affected every country in Europe. Of course, I've studied the horrors of the concentration camps and the plots to kill Hitler, but the war also affected every part of European society such as the lack of food, the lack of men to help at home, the terror of hearing air raids, and masses of people running to their shelters, etc. There were many, many people who were displaced during the war, especially children. All the Light follows two such stories, the story of a blind French girl named Marie-Laure, and a young German teenager named Werner. Marie-Laure and her father must leave Paris due to intense fighting there, and they find protection for a while with a relative in another town. Incidentally, the memorial to the Parisians who died in the Holocaust is located right in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. There is a light to represent each of the 200,000 French people who died.

  After their move, Marie-Laure must memorize a new community by counting the paces to the bakery, etc. In their Paris community, her father had built a model of the neighborhood so that she could "feel" what the buildings were like. She knew her way around quite easily there, but after the move she has to learn how to get around once again. Here it's not safe to go outside very often, however, so Marie-Laure must be content to stay indoors most of the time. In another setting in Germany,  a young orphan named Werner gets accepted into a Nazi school for exceptional young men who can help the Nazis. Werner has an amazing way with wires and radios, so even though he is small in stature and physically weak, he is accepted into the school and the Nazis begin to admire him for how quickly he can repair radios. Although he is glad to be out of the orphanage, Werner misses his younger sister and wants them to be together. I have a feeling that the two main characters in this book are going to somehow meet, but since I'm not quite finished with it, I can't say for sure.I'll write more about the ending of the book next time.

Here is the list of the next ten books in my card catalog. These are some of the books that I've read since 1984:

1. My Life in France by Julia Child
2. Walking Wisdom by Gotham Chopra
3. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
4. Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark
5. We'll Meet Again by Mary Higgins Clark
6. Opening Blind Eyes by John Claypool
7. What looks like crazy on an ordinary day by Pearl Cleage
8. Basic Types of Pastoral Care and Counseling by Howard Clinebell
9.  The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
10. Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell

Sending you warm thoughts,

Melissa