All the Light We Cannot See -- Discussion

Homemade German Cuisine

Book:  All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Meeting Place:  Tracy's basement
Ratings:
Kim - 4.75

Tracy - 3.75

Michaelene - 2.75
Melissa - 4.5
Barb - 4
Kathy - 2.5
Sherry - 3.75
Average Rating:  3.71

Our night began with a delicious German cuisine which consisted of brauts/sauerkraut, potato pierogies, salad, pasta salad, and pears.  Melissa popped the cork to some French Champagne and we toasted the new year!  We traveled back in the 1940's to France and Germany and explored the damage and destruction of World War II.  All the Light We Cannot See presented many interesting, unique topics which made for a great discussion!  We explored all the story lines throughout the book and shared which/whom we liked the best.  Marie-Laure was highly admired because of her strength living a life blind.  We really felt the struggles and challenges a blind person experiences.  Another favorite character was her father.  We admired how he built city models for Marie-Laure so she could experience some freedom around town.  He was definitely a candidate for "father of the year".  Werner, an orphan, highly knowledgable of radio transmissions, did not go unnoticed.  Other favorites discussed were Uncle Etienne and Madame Manec.

Michaelene's the winner!

BCDP:  In the story, there were 4 diamonds floating around and being searched.  One was real and rare, the other 3 fake.  Marie-Laure's father escaped France with the real diamond, "Sea of Flames", which put him and his family in danger.     Sherry themed the BCDP with 6 "gems".  The red gem was the "Sea of Flames", where the blue were fakes.  She taped them under our chairs and the winner, Michaelene, had the real deal!  She won a gift card to Panera Bread.  

Recommendation:  There were some mixed reviews, but most members enjoyed the book and would recommend it!  We really liked the characters and the World War II setting.  Some members did not like the jumping around in time.  Sherry felt the book could've been 100 pages shorter and complained there were too many unnecessary details.  Overall, a great read with some high ratings from our members.

Extra:  Sherry bought reader wraps for the entire group!