Try free for 30 days

  • All the Light We Cannot See

  • By: Anthony Doerr
  • Narrated by: Julie Teal
  • Length: 17 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,334 ratings)

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
All the Light We Cannot See cover art

All the Light We Cannot See

By: Anthony Doerr
Narrated by: Julie Teal
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $30.38

Buy Now for $30.38

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

WINNER OF THE 2015 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR FICTION

A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II

Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.

In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.

Doerr’s gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.

©2014 Anthony Doerr (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Critic Reviews

“This jewel of a story is put together like a vintage timepiece … Doerr's writing and imagery are stunning. It's been a while since a novel had me under its spell in this fashion.” (Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone)

"All the Light We Cannot See is a dazzling, epic work of fiction. Anthony Doerr writes beautifully about the mythic and the intimate, about snails on beaches and armies on the move, about fate and love and history and those breathless, unbearable moments when they all come crashing together.” (Jess Walter, author of Beautiful Ruins)

"Doerr sees the world as a scientist, but feels it as a poet. He knows about everything - radios, diamonds, mollusks, birds, flowers, locks, guns - but he also writes a line so beautiful, creates an image or scene so haunting, it makes you think forever differently about the big things - love, fear, cruelty, kindness, the countless facets of the human heart [...] Doerr's new novel is that novel, the one you savor, and ponder, and happily lose sleep over, then go around urging all your friends to read - now.” (J.R. Moehringer, author of Sutton and The Tender Bar)

What listeners say about All the Light We Cannot See

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,582
  • 4 Stars
    494
  • 3 Stars
    169
  • 2 Stars
    52
  • 1 Stars
    37
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,485
  • 4 Stars
    415
  • 3 Stars
    139
  • 2 Stars
    36
  • 1 Stars
    35
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,446
  • 4 Stars
    435
  • 3 Stars
    151
  • 2 Stars
    47
  • 1 Stars
    32

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Deb
  • 12-03-2016

All the Light....... I enjoyed to hear

This story was brilliantly written. I was captivated.
Reader was excellent and kept me listening late into the night.
Marilyn and her Father and Uncle were so interesting with characters interwoven in a story that brings the life of France before and during the War to life.
The German children used for Hitler's demonic reign brought me to tears with the hardships they endured during their training.
Living in Australia we really have no idea of how hard it would be to live in a war torn environment. For that I am glad!
This story is a must read and I am looking forward to reading more from this author and hopefully with the same reader.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Difficult to follow at times….

The story is very well written with a lovely use of words and sentences. I did find it very difficult to follow the story line with so many jumps and flashbacks. Unsatisfying ending. I’m left with too many questions. There is too much detail in the unimportant parts and too little detail in the actual story. I still enjoyed the book and hope the series can enlighten me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

SO beautiful

Such a beautiful story of love, hope, tragedy and destruction. My number one fiction recommendation. Will note disappoint.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Story

This intriguing story kept me captivated with its characters, its twists and turns. Very beautifully narrated with appropriate character voices and expert pronunciations (for various languages), which really added to the story for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • MTK
  • 18-12-2016

Good story but let down by narrator

I loved the premise of the book, very original and touching. However, I think they should have chosen a different narrator- I am bilingual and she completely butchered the French phrases in the book (I very often couldn't actually understand what she meant) and it really ruined the mood for me!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully written

I loved this book. The way each story intertwined is beautifully told. The descriptions are all so real, you can visualise each situation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Story.

An engaging civilian perspecrive of two lives unknowingly intertwined during WWII. I didn't want to stop.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Beautifully crafted enchanting and captivating story. Thoroughly recommend. It is a moving, gritty and realistic story. I have no doubt it will become a classic.

What does Julie Teal bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Fantastic narrator. Her voice carries really well while listening in the car, walking or relaxing. She truly brings the characters to life male or female. A pleasure to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A sense of loss now the book is finished!

What will I do without the stories of Verner, Marielor and the 'sea of flames'... Doerr's writing is compelling and I was drawn into the worlds and lives he created, so much that I will miss these characters. There are parts that have you on the edge of your seat, holding your breath, as you will the characters to survive or not... Julie Teal's narration is soft and poignant and way she says 'static, static, static'... become sign posts throughout! More please...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing beautiful story. very clever.

a very good read. this is the first audio book that I want to buy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.