"All the Light We Cannot See" definitely lives up to the hype. I'd been intending to read this one for ages, and absolutely everyone I know has recommended it highly. This is dangerous territory, as such high expectations in my experience often lead to disappointment.

I'm happy to say, however, that this book is definitely worthy of the praise and the recommendations, and I enjoyed it just as much as everyone said. The characters are very well drawn—Marie-Laure and Werner primarily, of course, but the rest of the cast is just as vibrant—and the pacing is excellent. I love shorter chapters, because I think they propel me to keep reading and heighten the tension of a storyline when employed correctly (like here!). I also liked the way time was used here to keep the reader in suspense; we started with an attack on Saint-Malo, and through these periodic jumps into the future we're teased with developments and left to wonder how they came about. And the prose, finally, is really beautiful. I found it maybe a little self-indulgent at times, but on the whole the writing was just magic.

This ending was also actually more sad than I'd anticipated, which I realize is kind of a dumb thing to say about a WWII read. I was so invested in the fates of the characters, and was left almost aching by some of their fates. A denial of resolution (even sad resolution) is one of the cruelest things an author can do imo, so thanks for that pain Anthony. But jokes aside, this is a really beautiful, moving, tragic book that is very much worth the read.