Oakville Reads discussion

"A novel to live in, learn from, and feel bereft over when the last page is turned, Doerr’s magnificently drawn story seems at once spacious and tightly composed. It rests, historically, during the occupation of France during WWII, but brief chapters told in alternating voices give the overall—and long— narrative a swift movement through time and events. We have two main characters, each one on opposite sides in the conflagration that is destroying Europe." (Booklist, vol 110, number 16, p23, 04-15-2014).

Anthony Doerr describes his inspiration for the two main characters in a short video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYBK3...). What are your first impressions of the book? If you watched the video, have your impressions of the book been changed or enhanced by Doerr's discussion?

I hadn't really thought so much about the power of radio theme in the book until watching the video. It came across to me more as the "magic" of radio, the voices, stories and music bringing joy to an otherwise dismal life.

It was a quick pace novel, flashing forward and back over time which really kept me on my toes. Reading this book made me think about other victims of war, in this case children. I couldn't help but wonder what a smart boy like Werner would have become had he been born in another time or if it wasn't for the war.

I hadn't thought too much of it that way either, which made the video so much more fascinating. I actually appreciated the book a whole lot more when it was presented that way. I'd noticed the role of the radio but hadn't thought about it quite that way before.

What I found interesting in the video, was the author's revelation of what motivated him to write this story. It's incredible that a man who couldn't get cell service, sparked such a leap of imagination for the author. This resulted in a story about the value of communication, through radio. I am only about 50 pages into the novel and I am eager to see how it all turns out.

I enjoyed watching this video too...the evolution of a novel always fascinates me. Like Victoria noted, it can be quite serendipitous. And 10 years in the making! I loved reading this book...the parallel narratives of the two children were beautiful and I found their stories equally compelling. This is what I call a well-written, gentle, literary read. Very richly-detailed too, and quickly-paced despite the size of the book. Short chapters really helped move the story along at a fair clip.

I totally agree with your first impressions of the book. I loved viewing the war in the eyes of the two children. Innocent and lovely as they both were. I love how much I wanted to flip to the next chapter even though this wasn't really a "page turner" novel. I just wanted to know more about there lives.

I agree with you, Alysha, it's a very interesting perspective to see the war from the children's 'eyes' (or in Marie-Laure's case, her amazing perception).

I personally enjoyed the radio aspects of the story as I fondly recall as a child building a crystal radio set, receiving my first (ancient) shortwave radio and listening to overseas broadcasts, and at 16 obtaining my ham radio license and speaking with people all over the world using a very old tube radio set. Lots of fond memories sitting in front of a glowing radio of one kind or another and letting my imagination run wild with stories of foreign countries, radio plays, foreign news, etc.