The Book Is Better: Review of All the Light We Cannot See

As any lover of literature would be, I was skeptical of a TV adaptation. The book, a historical fiction taking place predominantly in WWII France, was an instant favorite when I first picked it up all of six years ago. All The Light We Cannot See, by the enormously talented Anthony Doerr, is unequivocally one of the best-written novels I’ve ever had the delight of reading. Although, to be fair, the nature of the novel is not necessarily one of “delight.” Traversing the destruction and devastation of the second World War through the perspectives of two young characters—Marie-Laure, a 16 year-old blind French girl, and Werner, an 18 year-old German genius—All The Light We Cannot See is equal parts tragic and beautiful. 

My re-read immediately struck me once again with how captivating Doerr’s prose is—a consistency in all of his novels I’ve read. Delicate and moving, his word choice elevates the novel past the already heart-wrenching plot and themes. I will keep this review without spoilers in the hopes that I can convince you to pick up the book yourself. But I must say, bravery and resilience in the face of so much darkness is a theme that remains poignant nearly a decade after publication, and will remain achingly relevant and necessary far into the future. All The Light We Cannot See is a book about war, yes, but it is simultaneously a book about love, strength, and, naturally, a book about light. If you are in need of a truly 5-star novel to make you break down crying (I am not ashamed of sobbing over this book–it has happened before and will happen again) just to have it build your faith and soul back up again with its powerful narrative, Doerr’s Pulitzer-winning masterpiece is for you. I truly cannot recommend it enough.

I will be up-front—the miniseries, although good, was not what I hoped. I will start, however, with the highlights. The cinematography was stunning, the sets equally so. 

Joyfully (in the most tragic of ways), I found that, despite some changes, the miniseries remained faithful to the heart of All The Light We Cannot See. Another plus–Netflix hired blind actors to play the blind main character, which is an exciting win for disability representation in television. 

As with any media that attempts to navigate World War II, the Netflix miniseries must be careful with how it approaches Werner and the Nazi regime. To make an 18 year-old Nazi soldier the sympathetic character he is in the novel without brushing against glorifying the atrocities of war is dangerous territory, but I found that the miniseries made it very clear that war is terrible. A low bar, I admit, but a necessary one. 

However, the series was far from perfect. I admit to being a harsher critic than some would be, but I loved the novel too much not to be. For starters…. nearly everyone was British? Why did they have English accents? The characters are either French or German, but for some profoundly odd reason, nearly all of the actors adopted British accents. Interesting, to say the least.

My largest gripe with the series is that it altered several plot points. Some remained true to the theme and tone of the novel; others I felt were unnecessary and poor choices. Many details remained true, and I felt that the thematic soul of the novel remained (I cried a lot, which is, obviously, a good sign). But some of the changes were, sadly, for the worse. 

Alas, nothing is perfect, but overall I did thoroughly enjoy the miniseries. However, as in every case… the book is better.