All the Light We Cannot See is one of my favorite novels so I was interested in reading Doerr’s latest release. I listened to the audiobook over the course of many hours driving and hiking in Europe!

This novel is incredibly intricate. At the start, the rapid hopping of different perspectives (5 is a lot for any book) and timelines within those perspectives made my head spin! It took a bit of mental effort on my part to keep track of everything and everyone. But as the novel progressed and the connections between the perspectives were slowly revealed, I found myself in awe at the narrative web Doerr wove. I cannot imagine how much work and thought within went into this book. Like hiking a mountain, it is only after finishing and looking back that you can grasp the enormity of it!

Doerr writes at the beginning that this book is an ode to librarians past, present, and future, which it very much is. But to me, it seems to also celebrate the life of a story. The tale of Cloud Cuckoo Land, which I loved in and of itself, persists across centuries in this novel and its magic overcomes so many forces that might lead to it being lost. I’m fascinated that it offers so much to the characters (redemption, healing magic, connection to family, a chance to prove oneself) - yet it is absurd and seen as decidedly false. I love that its meaning, its power, exists independently of its truth. Like the characters in the book, I found Aethon’s stubborn optimism and perseverance inspiring. I loved that the children of the library chose such a hopeful ending - that even after seeing the land of his dreams come true, Aethon would choose to return to the complicated and at times painful and scary world of his home.

This book consistently mashes the beautiful and whimsical parts of life against the ugly and hard parts of life. Doerr’s writing does this so beautifully! This book is so massive in scope, it is practically a book about everything but it does seem to highlight connection above all things.