January Book Club: All the Light We Cannot See

Discussion in 'Reading Pad' started by crystalbella77, Dec 30, 2015.

Page 7 of 9
  1. Jan 12, 2016 #121
    sm_amber

    sm_amber I learn from the best..

    Messages:
    5,183
    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2010
    Wasn't it the ... the neighbor, clock maker, maybe? That tipped off the diamond hunter about where to look? Or was he just the one who turned her dad in and that's it?.. I don't remember either way, but I really don't remember about him meeting up with ML's dad in prison.
     
    sm_amber, Jan 12, 2016
    sm_amber, Jan 12, 2016
    #121
  2. Jan 12, 2016 #122
    sm_amber

    sm_amber I learn from the best..

    Messages:
    5,183
    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2010
    I think aside from the obvious tragedy of Frederick's story, I was particularly touched by this one because I felt myself relating to Werner in their friendship. I've always felt for the underdog in situations, but (unfortunately) not stood up for them as frequently or as fiercely as I should. I could totally relate to Werner's guilt in these circumstances.
     
    sm_amber, Jan 12, 2016
    sm_amber, Jan 12, 2016
    #122
    Karen likes this.
  3. Jan 12, 2016 #123
    crystalbella77

    crystalbella77 Capture life and embrace it

    Messages:
    3,779
    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2009
    I think that is part of this book that is hard reading. I think a lot [most?] would and do have a hard time sticking up for people even though that is what we want to do and convince ourselves that we would do. I actually found myself hoping he would and then praying he wouldn't while reading. If he had, he would have been tortured the same, but you also would like to think that some people do stand up to ugly evils even when it is that hard. It was a very compelling part of the story I think because it made you feel so torn and then just as guilty as he felt..wondering what you would do and partially hoping he remained safe. At least for me, that is how I felt and felt torn a bit. It was so so sad. I loved the moment where he seemed to notice the bird at his very end. Like he was himself once again. It was a very tragic part of the book...poor Frederick.

    I was also drawn to Volkheimer. He seemed to be kind to Werner, but someone who could just kill or beat upon command. He had to have had so much pain thinking of the suffering he caused and had to live with. It is so crazy to me to think of a person like that..just killing point blank...and then moving to a tv repair man later in life (was that what it was?). I just couldn't imagine...He was very complex to me and confusing.
     
    crystalbella77, Jan 12, 2016
    crystalbella77, Jan 12, 2016
    #123
    sm_amber likes this.
  4. Jan 12, 2016 #124
    DixieDoesPSP

    DixieDoesPSP Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,619
    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2012
    With Volkheimer I felt like because of his massive size he had been used most of his life. He seemed protective over Werner especially. I got the feeling he was a very complex character that we didnt really get to see the complexities of. You could almost write another book from his view point .
     
    DixieDoesPSP, Jan 12, 2016
    DixieDoesPSP, Jan 12, 2016
    #124
    crystalbella77 likes this.
  5. Jan 12, 2016 #125
    sm_amber

    sm_amber I learn from the best..

    Messages:
    5,183
    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2010
    Oohh.. that would be interesting.. and I agree about his size causing him to be taken advantage of..
     
    sm_amber, Jan 12, 2016
    sm_amber, Jan 12, 2016
    #125
  6. Jan 12, 2016 #126
    gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

    Messages:
    11,695
    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2009
    I finished today! Now I can go back and read all the comments. LOL
     
    gonewiththewind, Jan 12, 2016
    gonewiththewind, Jan 12, 2016
    #126
    crystalbella77 likes this.
  7. Jan 12, 2016 #127
    gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

    Messages:
    11,695
    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2009
    Werner's death was detailed. He left the hospital tent and a guard was yelling for him to stop. He didn't stop, and walked onto a land mine. But I agree with you @Karen that it felt like we should have been there for more moments, to hear his last words, or something MORE than him leaving behind a knapsack, a childhood journal, and a model house. Then again, that's what happened. So many people, include Marie-Laure, didn't have ANY closure. So I suppose in the same way, as readers, we were subjected to that same kind of loss. I feel the unfinished, open, scariness of it all, too.

    I disagree. Werner felt that Jutta was safe being away from the war, from the front line. He often day dreamed about where she was and what she was doing. The point of having that particular scene, in addition to showing how she struggled to find work, shelter, food, was that NO ONE was safe.

    I'll be back to answer questions and comment on some other posts later.
     
    gonewiththewind, Jan 12, 2016
    gonewiththewind, Jan 12, 2016
    #127
    bellbird and Karen like this.
  8. Jan 12, 2016 #128
    crystalbella77

    crystalbella77 Capture life and embrace it

    Messages:
    3,779
    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2009
    I guess I never got that feeling. I felt like he always wondered about her and wished he had done things differently and things, but I never felt like he envisioned her life being good. It was already hard before he joined the war, so I think he knew it was hard for her after. I felt like he just missed her.

    We all have different perceptions of people though and that's why book discussions are fun :)
     
    crystalbella77, Jan 12, 2016
    crystalbella77, Jan 12, 2016
    #128
  9. Jan 12, 2016 #129
    gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

    Messages:
    11,695
    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2009
    Bah ~ I was in a hurry to finish up my post, and I came off sounding pompous. Not meant that way. I should have said, that **I thought** that the point of having that particular scene, in addition to showing how she struggled to find work, shelter, food, was that NO ONE was safe. NOT that it was definitively the point. LOL Sorry! I'll be more conscientious about my commenting and not be in a rush!
     
    gonewiththewind, Jan 12, 2016
    gonewiththewind, Jan 12, 2016
    #129
    Karen likes this.
  10. Jan 12, 2016 #130
    crystalbella77

    crystalbella77 Capture life and embrace it

    Messages:
    3,779
    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2009
    omgosh..you would never sound that way lol! I hope I didn't make you feel like you did?! I have known you for years now and that would never come across from you haha! Hope I didn't make you feel bad!!!
     
    crystalbella77, Jan 12, 2016
    crystalbella77, Jan 12, 2016
    #130
  11. Jan 12, 2016 #131
    gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

    Messages:
    11,695
    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2009
    YOU didn't make me feel that way! I read the post and it sounded that way to me! LOL I was like, dude, Cheryl, dial it back a bit.
     
    gonewiththewind, Jan 12, 2016
    gonewiththewind, Jan 12, 2016
    #131
    Karen and crystalbella77 like this.
  12. Jan 12, 2016 #132
    Jeanet

    Jeanet CT - Lynne-Marie

    Messages:
    1,100
    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2013
    I loved Frederick as well and that comment about his life not being his own broke my heart much more than any other detail in the book.
    I always imagined Werners memories of Jutta at the home as a way of telling himself that she at least was ok. Funny how we've read that differently :) But I guess that's the magic of books
     
    Jeanet, Jan 12, 2016
    Jeanet, Jan 12, 2016
    #132
    crystalbella77 likes this.
  13. Jan 13, 2016 #133
    QuiltyMom

    QuiltyMom I'll never run out of things to do!

    Messages:
    4,672
    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2012
    My husband gave me this and told me I must read it. Of course, it still sitting on my nightstand, unopened. Maybe this will get me to open it up and actually read it.
     
    QuiltyMom, Jan 13, 2016
    QuiltyMom, Jan 13, 2016
    #133
  14. Jan 13, 2016 #134
    Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

    Messages:
    30,439
    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2008
    So I went back and read this chapter about Werner walking out of the tent. I must have been falling asleep right then because I remember him trying to eat and I remember him walking out of the tent, but I don't remember him stepping on a landmine. HOW did I miss that? Lol! That totally makes me feel better about my biggest gripe about this book. I thought they left his ending hanging in the air. Geez! :giggle Still makes me sad though. I too was holding out hope that they'd meet up again after the war.
     
    Karen, Jan 13, 2016
    Karen, Jan 13, 2016
    #134
    bellbird likes this.
  15. Jan 13, 2016 #135
    gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

    Messages:
    11,695
    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2009
    I read it that way as well . . . that he imagined what life was like for her. But then the scene with the Russians and Jutta and the other ladies . . . I didn't feel that the scene was out of place because it showed that no one was safe . . . even though Werner was imagining what her life was like, it wasn't like that, for her or for anyone else. There was no safe place in WWII.
     
    gonewiththewind, Jan 13, 2016
    gonewiththewind, Jan 13, 2016
    #135
  16. Jan 13, 2016 #136
    NancyP

    NancyP All you need is a little bit of pixie dust

    Messages:
    2,072
    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2014
    OK, I am not much of a reader but you have peaked my interest in this book! Especially since my late husband served in the German army in WWII. And I always like to add----NOT of his own choosing!! I watched The Book Thief last night and I was a basket case afterwards!! I guess because (if you have seen it) the little blond boy, Rudy, was the same age as my husband in 1938. So hubby was only 16 when they sent him to the war front in 1944.
     
    NancyP, Jan 13, 2016
    NancyP, Jan 13, 2016
    #136
    enjoyyourpix likes this.
  17. Jan 13, 2016 #137
    crystalbella77

    crystalbella77 Capture life and embrace it

    Messages:
    3,779
    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2009
    Oh wow Nancy! That is so crazy and I bet it gives you such a different perspective. I bet it makes it hard to read and hear things though. Such a sad time. I'd love to know what you think if you give this a go!
     
    crystalbella77, Jan 13, 2016
    crystalbella77, Jan 13, 2016
    #137
  18. Jan 13, 2016 #138
    NancyP

    NancyP All you need is a little bit of pixie dust

    Messages:
    2,072
    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2014
    He came to America in '56 and rarely spoke about the war. He lived in Berlin. He could not go see Holocaust, and walked out about half way through Schindler's List. Am checking the library tomorrow for this book.
     
    NancyP, Jan 13, 2016
    NancyP, Jan 13, 2016
    #138
  19. Jan 13, 2016 #139
    michelepixels

    michelepixels A pun is not fully matured until it is full groan.

    Messages:
    8,205
    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2015
    I'm impressed he even considered going to that movie. I haven't even been involved, wasn't even alive until decades after the war, but it bothers me too much to go see a movie about it. I won't go into the Holocaust Museum either. I think I'd just cry my way through it.
     
    michelepixels, Jan 13, 2016
    michelepixels, Jan 13, 2016
    #139
  20. Jan 13, 2016 #140
    crystalbella77

    crystalbella77 Capture life and embrace it

    Messages:
    3,779
    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2009
    This is me too. I was so nervous about this book and I did cry multiple times. :( I haven't even ever watched Schindler's List and most war movies because I do not handle it well. It's so awful to me. :(
     
    crystalbella77, Jan 13, 2016
    crystalbella77, Jan 13, 2016
    #140
    michelepixels likes this.
Page 7 of 9

Share This Page