Nr. 27

I finished the book “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr around 3:30am last night. Which means I gulped it down in more or less one day. It was a beautiful depiction of intricate characters, yet so familiar I almost went: “Yes! Of course! Absolutely!”

It brought tears and laughter, what more can you really ask for in a book? There are several things I would like to talk about when it comes to the book, from duality and symbolism to the psychological aspect of human behavior, the time period, the natural intuition, connections and emotions. I could go on forever, probably. 

When I woke up today I actually felt quite sad. It’s quite common after ending a book, I think. My mind was still lingering in the imaginative world of Marie-Laure and the painful upbringing of Werner. I felt sorrow for all the real untold stories from that period. It was such a tragic yet unique time. 

When I went to middle school I studied WW2 for about a year. It was a huge part of our curriculum, but I continued by myself at home. I remember spending hours reading about it in our encyclopedia, hunting every type of literature on the subject, both fiction and non. This was only to be substituted by another subject I dedicated a lot of time reading about, which was slavery. 

Even though I have been fascinated by different time eras, like say the 70s. Not necessarily for its music or fashion, but imagining how the general mindset was during this period. It seemed simpler in many ways, not to belittle it, but there was an innocence. I look at photos and try to understand the life the people were living. Maybe it was less filtered back then...maybe that’s what I am intrigued by. (I’m merely trying to refer to emotional and social connections, not political or moral standards)

But during the Second World War technology was advanced enough to cause mass murder, yet so primitive that soldiers and civilians didn’t have proper communications. The emotions that people must’ve felt, suppressed or overcome...its unfathomable. We could make the case that those emotions really still residing in us as we innately acquire these, but it’s not really the same. If you were to strip away all the knowledge you have of things after 1945, maybe you would think differently or act differently. 

What I guess I’m trying to say is that I have a deep emotional attachment to this period. It brings forth the deepest emotions in my heart. This book described so well many of those emotions. A part of my heart will forever live with Marie-Laure and her incredible bravery.