Author: Anthony Doerr

The year is 1934 and war is brewing in Europe. In Paris a young girl, 6 year-old Marie-Laure LeBlanc, is blind. Her father works in the Museum of Natural History which houses a rare diamond.

A 7-year old orphan, Werner Pfennig, lives in an orphanage in Germany with his sister. Werner has a deep interest in an old radio he found in the attic, and he and his sister listen secretly to the voices from far away.

When the Nazis move into Paris, Marie-Laure, now 12, and her father flee to the northern coast of France to live with an eccentric uncle taking with them what could be the museum’s rare gem. Meanwhile, Werner “joined” the Nazi military and is developing his abilities to build and repair radio equipment. He will later become a valuable asset to the Nazi war effort.

This is the heart-warming, and heart-wrenching, story of how the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner cross and come-together during a brutal war.

I do not read very many books that capture my interest and draw me in like this one. Marie-Laure’s life and copping with blindness could  have been a story in itself. I was so taken in that when I reached the end I wanted to go back and read it again to make certain I had not missed anything. It is a must-read.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book, National Book Award finalist, more than two and a half years on the New York Times bestseller list.