my take: Sometimes I do weary of World War reads. How, after 70 years, can we still be mining for original stories? Is there no end to it?

This is a WWII story that is so vastly different from others that I sometimes forgot the WW chip on my shoulder. Part mystery, part page turner, part heart-breaker … I read this in two sittings.

Mr. Doerr takes the elements of radios, orphans, museums treasures, and blindness and whirls them together in a tale that encompasses the war from a French and German perspective. The title is mind-bogglingly rich.

The majority of the French perspective happens in St. Malo, a small, walled, coastal city on the Atlantic. I double dog dare you not to want to visit after reading. Hubby, mother, aunt, and I did on our spring trip to France. Worth a read and worth a visit.

my source: Aunt Harriet

my verdict: excellent read