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Aug 13, 2017ace_combs rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
On of those books you hear so much praise for you think it can't live up to the hype. For me, it did and more. Doerr blends science and art, poetry and prose, untrammeled beauty and the horror of war into a riveting book that serves up its short chapters like confections. I found myself late at night saying, "Well, just one more." Marie-Laure is the solid grounded center around which the book revolves and her blindness doesn't make her a cipher or unnaturally noble--she's a real kid who simply deals with her lot in life and tries to survive and take what joys she can. At the same time, her tenous situation is made all the more dangerous by being caught in a war zone being fought over by the Allies and Axis. There are some rich poetic moments and some grisly ones--the author doesn't hold back. In a book where hiding is integral to the story, nothing is hidden from the reader.