Book · 2014
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
A blind French girl and a German boy assigned to hunt radio signals converge in occupied Saint-Malo as the war ends.
What does Reddit think of All the Light We Cannot See?
What's notable is that two of the most identically-upvoted comments in the sample disagree completely. One, at ↑78, calls it a natural pairing with The Book Thief for historical fiction. Another, also at ↑78, calls it 'a bloated exercise in smug self-indulgence that sugarcoats the reality of World War II it pretends to illuminate.' That's the actual split here, not a rounding error. The warmer read wins on volume: one reader admits putting off a book this popular out of suspicion, then conceding 'I understand why it's so popular' after finishing (↑108). The Netflix adaptation gets credit for a small rediscovery too, per the commenter who read it 'before the Netflix drama' and made it a new favorite (↑55). Mentions peaked at 88 in 2020 and have thinned since, down to 37 in 2025, well before the show could have driven a second wave.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · WWII historical fiction
- · blindness and radio as connection
- · occupation and resistance in Saint-Malo
- · popularity as its own controversy
- · Netflix-driven rediscovery
Common praise
- + One reluctant reader admits 'I understand why it's so popular' after finally getting to it (↑108).
- + It gets paired naturally with The Book Thief as a historical-fiction entry point (↑108).
- + The Netflix adaptation reportedly turned at least one viewer into a genuine fan afterward (↑55).
Common criticism
- − One reader calls it 'a bloated exercise in smug self-indulgence' that oversimplifies the war it's about, at the same ↑78 as its defenders.
- − Mentions have dropped from an 88-mention peak in 2020 to just 37 in 2025, well before any Netflix bump could explain the decline.
- − Its own popularity is treated by at least one commenter as the problem, not the selling point (↑78).
Who it's for
This is the book to hand someone who wants WWII fiction without wanting a straight history text. Compare it directly to The Book Thief before deciding, since that's the pairing Reddit itself makes (↑108). If 'sugarcoats the reality of World War II' sounds like a fair complaint to you rather than an overreaction, you're already on the ↑78 skeptic's side. Watched the Netflix version first? At least one reader says the show made them a convert (↑55).
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for All the Light We Cannot See?
Top-upvoted quotes across the subreddits where this book is mentioned. Click through to read the full thread.
“Carter Beats the Devil, Left Hand of Darkness, Count of Monte Christo, The Shining and Doctor Sleep, Station Eleven, Exit West, All the Light We Cannot See,
“I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy got me, as did, weirdly, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansang, if you like non-fiction about polar exploration/survival events. What those men went through is just harrowing. TW for animal death, though. Other sad af books I have read …
“In an effort to be more helpful than u/nosleepforthedreamer, I see threads like this and they always make me curious. I compiled a list of frequent responses in my iPhone notes called “Books For A Good Cry”. Disclaimer: I have not read any, and I excluded from it those I have read (like Where The Re…
“All the Light We Cannot See. This book is so popular that I put off reading it for a while. I read it this year and... Yeah, I understand why it's so popular. I would recommend another obvious choice: The Book Thief. If you haven't read Of Mice and Men, that would be a good idea too. And it's pretty…
“Loathed All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr. A bloated exercise in smug self-indulgence that sugarcoats the reality of World War II it pretends to illuminate.
“for historical fiction, see also: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
“All the light we cannot see… before the Netflix drama. I have a weakness for historical fiction so kinda crazy it took me this long to get to it but it’s now my favorite book. Absolutely loved it. Cheers to a new year, ComplexSorry6592!
“{{All The Light We Cannot See}} {{Daisy Jones and the Six}} {{The Winter People}} {{Where the Crawdads Sing}}
Convinced? Pick up All the Light We Cannot See
What else does r/suggestmeabook read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
A high-school teacher wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of how he got there and one job left: save Earth.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
J. K. Rowling
A neglected eleven-year-old discovers he belongs to a hidden magical world, enters Hogwarts, and learns that wonder carries history and danger with it.
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries)
Martha Wells
A security robot hacks its own governor module, gains free will, and spends its days streaming soap operas instead of killing anyone.
Mistborn: The Final Empire
Brandon Sanderson
A street thief gets recruited into a heist crew plotting to overthrow a god-emperor who has ruled unchallenged for a thousand years.
Circe
Madeline Miller
An exiled witch on a deserted island turns men into pigs and spends three thousand years deciding what she actually wants.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre Dumas
A framed sailor rots in an island prison for fourteen years, escapes with a fortune, and spends the rest of the book collecting on every debt of vengeance.
All the Light We Cannot See — frequently asked
Is All the Light We Cannot See overrated?+
Depends who's talking. Two comments in the sample carry identical ↑78 upvote scores while disagreeing completely: one calls it a natural historical-fiction pairing with The Book Thief, the other calls it 'a bloated exercise in smug self-indulgence' about World War II.
Is All the Light We Cannot See similar to The Book Thief?+
Yes, per the Reddit pairing itself. One commenter recommends it directly alongside The Book Thief for readers wanting historical fiction (↑108), and admits they put off reading it out of suspicion before conceding it earned its popularity.
Did the Netflix show help or hurt All the Light We Cannot See's reputation?+
Modest help for some, but the numbers don't show a rebound. One reader says the show turned them into a fan (↑55), yet total mentions kept falling, from an 88-mention peak in 2020 to 37 in 2025.
What's the biggest criticism of All the Light We Cannot See on Reddit?+
That it oversimplifies its own subject. One commenter calls it 'a bloated exercise in smug self-indulgence that sugarcoats the reality of World War II it pretends to illuminate' (↑78), a direct challenge to the book's prestige reputation.