All the Light We Cannot See is a 2014 war novel by American author Anthony Doerr. The novel is set during World War II. It revolves around the characters Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl who takes refuge in her great-uncle's house in Saint-Malo after Paris is invaded by Nazi Germany, and Werner Pfennig, a bright German boy who is accepted into a military school because of his skills in radio technology. The book alternates between paralleling chapters depicting Marie-Laure and Werner, framed with a nonlinear structure. The novel has a lyrical writing style, with critics noting extensive sensory details. The story has ethical themes, portraying the destructive nature of war and Doerr's fascination with science and nature.
Doerr drew inspiration from a 2004 train ride. During the ride, a passenger became frustrated after his telephone call disconnected. Doerr felt the passenger did not appreciate the "miracle" of long-distance communication and wanted to write a novel about appreciating said miracles. He decided to set the novel in World War II with a focus on the Battle of Saint-Malo after visiting the town in 2005. Doerr spent ten years writing All the Light We Cannot See, with much time dedicated to research on World War II.
Scribner published All the Light We Cannot See on May 6, 2014, to commercial and critical success. It was on The New York Times Best Seller list for over 200 weeks and sold over 15 million copies. Several publications considered it to be among the best books of 2014. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and was shortlisted for the National Book Award. A television adaptation produced by 21 Laps Entertainment was announced in 2019 and was released on Netflix as a four-part miniseries on November 2, 2023.
