All The Light We Cannot See has been making the rounds lately with its Netflix miniseries garnering praise but I can’t help but note one massive downfall with the miniseries, something that pales considerably to the novel, and what makes the novel so mesmerising and compelling. Any guesses?

You see, the core of the story is a tale of a blind girl navigating the world while at the very centre of a war. Keyword: blind. The beauty of All The Light We Cannot See as a novel is that there are no visual descriptors used during Marie-Laure’s chapters, every piece of description and life within her perspective are from her other senses or through having learnt what something looks like from her father. The strong presence of taste, smell, touch and hearing makes it feel as though visual description isn’t needed, in fact, it reminds me of how boring and dull putting such a heavy focus on the visuals of something can make a book. There are visual descriptions in Werner’s chapters, so don’t think that this book lacks colours or people’s visible expressions. But I think a key part of the story is the fact that Marie Laure’s blindness is woven into the delivery of lines and the story. The show fails to bring that element of the story to life through the sheer fact that it is a visual medium.

Another this I adore about this book, which is linked to Marie-Laure not being able to see, are the moments that seem ordinary or significant during wartime that are not able to be interacted with. There is a particular scene that I vividly recall where leaflets fall from the sky, one getting stuck in her apartment window, and they’re telling the residence to flee. We are told what it says, but all we can do is read on as Marie-Laure hears this rustling in the window and touches this piece of paper. There are man more moments of high-tension in the book and I implore you to pick it up and read it first before you go and watch the show. I repeat: READ THE BOOK BEFORE WATCHING THE SHOW.

Aside from the unique and incredibly perfect selection of elements to this story, it is a beautiful and poignant war novel. Set in the France, the countryside and seaside serve as our scenery, following the intriguing plot surrounding Marie-Laure’s father, their journey from Paris, the incoming Nazi wave and Werner, our male protagonist who grew up in a Hitler youth programme but holds no sentiment toward the man or the fight. Most importantly, we have a meeting of two people from opposite sides, or supposed opposite sides, and how it all leads to one moment, gone in the blink of an eye.

I’m dying to reread this because I truly don’t think I will get sick of this book, nor do I think that I could pick it up and not learn something new as a writer or a reader with every reread. Anthony Doerr has done a marvellous job with this book and I’m so happy it has received so much recognition. Once you have read All The Light We Cannot See, I highly recommend watching the show to see the world brought to life.