According to Steph Cha, a Los Angeles Times writer, the novel All the Light We Cannot See, “required a lot of work to rise above emotional manipulation” (Cha 1). Cha explains why he describes the novel this way is because it is written about two characters with heartbreaking backstories during a hardship of World War II. Cha acknowledges one of Anthony Doerr, author of the novel, strengths of how his book captured, ‘‘reflections on the meaning of life, the universe and everything” (Cha 2). This can be difficult to achieve because it only has one theme. Cha describes Werner (the orphan boy) as the “most compelling part of the book” (Cha 8). Because his characteristics in the novel makes him more complex compared to the other characters, it is difficult to be defined as either “good or bad.” (Cha 9). …show more content…
It can be seen as a strength because some others write more about the setting of their novels and not much on the characters. The setting appears to be more important than the actual plot. On the other hand, Cha’s words can also be interpreted as a weakness because the setting also affects the characters in their story. Another strength that Cha mentions that Doerr posses is his in the choice of title. His title has a deep meaning, but it is also correct because “mathematically, all of the light is invisible” (Cha 10). His title doesn’t only apply to his book but to the universe as well. Overall Cha describes, “Doerr’s novel [as] ambitious and majestic without bluntness or over dependence on heartbreak” (Cha 12). From only reading his review over the novel, Steph Cha views the novel with many strengths because of the emotion and time period that Doerr wrote