Manchester District Library Book Club discussion

Please share your thoughts. Since this is a longer book we will read it from November to January.

Here is my review:
This novel is very close to a 5 star book for me. The characters and story were captivating and moving. I am a fan of historical fiction and this is well researched and well written. I really enjoyed the format of short sub-chapters going back and forth between Werner and Marie-Laure although I was sometimes confused as the book bounced back and forth in time. There were some slow parts I think the novel could have done without. I had little interest in Von Rumpel, the Nazi searching for the Sea of Flames, and would have preferred to know more about Madame, Uncle Etienne, Marie-Laure's father, Jutta, Frau Elena, Frederick, or even Volkheimer. I think being more familiar with "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" would have increased my enjoyment of the novel also. I look forward to discussing the book with the group.

Here is my review:
Often, if you give a read 5 stars, it is one that you cannot put down. This book was one that I could, and did, put down (mainly because I was reading it during the busy Holiday season) to reflect and digest on the few chapters I just read. Doerr is masterful in his telling of the story with many detours and time travels without exasperating the eager reader.

There are so many magical moments when the author puts together the perfect words to describe the indescribable. Not just the painful realities of war but the beauty of the world. The magic that imagination creates even in the most hopeless...a piece of music, the shell of a snail, the fictional adventures of a submarine twenty thousands leagues under the sea.....
This is a book deserving the praise that it has been getting and of my precious 5 star award.