As I’ve not been feeling great recently, I have greatly neglected my book reviews! So sorry about that! So here are a couple of (very brief) reviews.

All the Light we Cannot See  by Anthony Doerr

I chose this book because I was recommended it by a friend ages and ages ago and when I saw it in the shop, I liked the cover so I bought it! The novel is based in the Second World War and is told through the eyes of two characters, a blind French girl and a German boy who becomes involved with the Hitler Youth (though this is never fully expressed). The novel is fantastically written with many sub plots keeping it interesting, despite its length (if I remember pushing 500 pages). I often find myself reading war fiction, despite not being particularly interested in history, but this novel is all about the characters and not about the fighting. The two protagonists are good, generous people trying to do good amongst the bleak, violent and dangerous situations they find themselves in. It is often very moving, but also occasionally has a lightness to it since, for most of the book, both of the protagonists are children. I hadn’t even heard of Doerr before but I’d be interested in reading more of his work. I would highly recommend this book to someone looking for a good read. It’s a long one, but a beautiful one.

The boy who taught the beekeeper to read by Susan Hill

When I picked up this book from the uni library, I didn’t realise it was actually a collection of short stories (or that it was written by the author who wrote The Woman in Black, which I was forever traumatised by after seeing it in the theatre in sixth form). However, thankfully none of the short stories were ghost stories! I chose it because I liked the cover and title… shallow I know. I find short stories really intriguing as they need to capture your imagination and make you believe in the characters and plot in a few pages. I actually kind of wish the whole book was about the first short story, as that was the one I found most captivating. However, each story has its own grit, joys and sorrows. I really enjoyed diving into multiple situations and spending time with different characters for a short time. The writing is fantastic and each story is different enough to be interesting. I’d recommend it if you like short stories, because I know they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. A good holiday read, perhaps.