A compelling romance of the Second World War. I found it interesting to compare this to Suite Francaise, another book that's mostly concerned with the Nazi occupation of France. In that book, Irene Nemirovsky was writing about what was happening around her at that very moment, and Suite Francaise is unfinished because of her internment and murder at the hands of the Third Reich. This book, on the other hand, was written in the 21st century by the American writer-in-residence for the state of Idaho.

Those differing perspectives result in some very similar books, however. Both books involve a nascent, never-fully-realized romance between a German soldier and a young French woman. That romance is more fully developed in Suite Francaise; here it's background to the story of how those two people survived in Europe during the worst years of the 20th century, and how they came to meet.

Both books are told very cinematically. I understand Suite Francaise is already a film in Europe, coming to the US soon. I won't be surprised to see All the Light We Cannot See not far behind.