Anthony Doerr

 

Easton Press Anthony Doerr books

All the Light We Cannot See - signed edition - 2022

 

Author Anthony Doerr

Anthony Doerr, born on October 27, 1973, in Cleveland, Ohio, is an American author widely celebrated for his evocative prose and profound storytelling. Raised in a family that valued education and literature, Doerr's early years were marked by a deep appreciation for the written word. Doerr attended Bowdoin College in Maine, where he cultivated his passion for writing. After graduating with a degree in history, he pursued a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. His dedication to the craft of writing soon led him to publish his first collection of short stories, The Shell Collector, in 2002. This debut work garnered critical acclaim and hinted at the literary prowess that would define Doerr's career. However, it was with the release of his second novel, All the Light We Cannot See (2014), that Doerr achieved widespread recognition and international success. This historical novel, set against the backdrop of World War II, intricately weaves together the lives of a blind French girl and a young German boy whose paths eventually intersect. The novel received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015, solidifying Doerr's reputation as a master storyteller.

Doerr's writing is characterized by its poetic beauty, meticulous research, and a keen understanding of human nature. His works often explore themes of resilience, the impact of war, and the intricacies of human relationships. Beyond novels, Doerr has contributed essays and short stories to various publications, showcasing his versatility as a writer. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Anthony Doerr has received numerous accolades for his literary achievements, including the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His success has also extended to the realm of nonfiction, where he has explored subjects ranging from science to travel.

Anthony Doerr continues to captivate readers with his storytelling prowess, proving himself as a contemporary literary figure with a profound ability to connect with audiences around the world. His dedication to the craft and his exploration of the human experience through literature make him a notable and influential figure in the world of modern fiction.

 

All the Light We Cannot See

Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

A blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). Open your eyes, and see what you can with them before they close forever. Marie-Laure has been blind since the age of six. Her father builds a perfect miniature of their Paris neighbourhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When she is twelve, the German Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner Pfennig grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an master at building and fixing these crucial new radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure. The story Illuminates the ways, against all odds, that people try to be good to one another.

At the same time, far away in a walled city by the sea, an old man discovers new worlds without ever setting foot outside his home. But all around him, impending danger closes in.

In this magnificent, deeply moving novel, the stories of Marie-Laure and Werner illuminate the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.

Doerr’s combination of soaring imagination and meticulous observation is electric. As Europe is engulfed by war and lives collide unpredictably, ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ is a captivating and devastating elegy for innocence.

From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the stunningly beautiful instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, the beloved instant New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review Top 10 Book about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Ten years in the writing, a National Book Award finalist, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer “whose sentences never fail to thrill” - Los Angeles Times