All the Light We Cannot See characters tagged posts

The Magnificent Light of Anthony Doerr’s “All the Light We Cannot See”

The fog and devastation of war, and the blindness (both literal and figurative) of humans forced to grope along through its bombed out buildings, tank-rutted roads, and even deeper moral quandaries.

The weight and stench of occupation, of others in complete control of whatever they want to be in control of in your life—including your opportunity to continue living it.

The hollow feeling in the pit of your stomach when experiencing this humiliation, this sin against your sovereignty, day upon dispiriting day.

The heroisms and cowardices and cruelties, both small and large, of those caught up in war’s maelstrom, forced to come to terms with their own codes of conduct and conscience in a time of previously unimaginable duress.

The vagaries of fate, of being born into a particular time and place, of that time and place hurling you pell mell to other times and places, scattering your life like a landmine...

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