- Available now
- New ebook additions
- New kids additions
- New teen additions
- Most popular
- Try something different
- See all
- Available now
- New audiobook additions
- New kids additions
- New teen additions
- Most popular
- Try something different
- See all
Starred review from February 17, 2014
In 1944, the U.S. Air Force bombed the Nazi-occupied French coastal town of St. Malo. Doerr (Memory Wall) starts his story just before the bombing, then goes back to 1934 to describe two childhoods: those of Werner and Marie-Laure. We meet Werner as a tow-headed German orphan whose math skills earn him a place in an elite Nazi training school—saving him from a life in the mines, but forcing him to continually choose between opportunity and morality. Marie-Laure is blind and grows up in Paris, where her father is a locksmith for the Museum of Natural History, until the fall of Paris forces them to St. Malo, the home of Marie-Laure’s eccentric great-uncle, who, along with his longtime housekeeper, joins the Resistance. Doerr throws in a possibly cursed sapphire and the Nazi gemologist searching for it, and weaves in radio, German propaganda, coded partisan messages, scientific facts, and Jules Verne. Eventually, the bombs fall, and the characters’ paths converge, before diverging in the long aftermath that is the rest of the 20th century. If a book’s success can be measured by its ability to move readers and the number of memorable characters it has, Story Prize–winner Doerr’s novel triumphs on both counts. Along the way, he convinces readers that new stories can still be told about this well-trod period, and that war—despite its desperation, cruelty, and harrowing moral choices—cannot negate the pleasures of the world.
October 27, 2014
Broadway actor Appelman delivers a moving performance in the audio edition of Doerr’s beautiful WWII novel. The story shifts back and forth in time, and alternates between the perspectives of two protagonists, Marie-Laure—a blind French girl whose locksmith father builds models of the city to help her adapt to her surroundings—and Werner Pfennig, a German orphan who is separated from his sister, Jutta, when he’s called to work for the Nazis as an engineer. The stories are both involving in their own right, as we track how the peaceful lives of a father/daughter and brother/sister are slowly disrupted by the rise of the Nazis. Reader Appelman helps convey the emotional tension of each scene with dialogue that is devastatingly moving, and his portrayal of Marie-Laure’s uncle, Etienne, is particularly effective. All and all, Appelman turns in a dramatic and well-paced performance of Doerr’s richly conveyed and heartbreaking period piece. A Scribner hardcover.
Availability can change throughout the month based on the library's budget. You can still place a hold on the title, and your hold will be automatically filled as soon as the title is available again.
The OverDrive Read format of this ebook has professional narration that plays while you read in your browser. Learn more here.
Your session has expired. Please sign in again so you can continue to borrow titles and access your Loans, Wish list, and Holds pages.
If you're still having trouble, follow these steps to sign in.
Add a library card to your account to borrow titles, place holds, and add titles to your wish list.
Have a card? Add it now to start borrowing from the collection.
The library card you previously added can't be used to complete this action. Please add your card again, or add a different card. If you receive an error message, please contact your library for help.