All the Light We Cannot See is Anthony Doerr's fifth book. The novel was published by Scribner in 2014, and was both a critical and popular success, staying on The New York Times bestseller list for 118 weeks.
Inspiration for the novel struck Doerr when he was traveling with a friend whose cell phone broke. The experience made Doerr think about how dependent so many people in the modern world are on cell phones; he wanted to explore a time when radio had the same sort of hold over people's lives. For the novel's setting, Doerr chose Saint-Malo, after he visited there and discovered what a magical, fairytale-like town it is.
All the Light We Cannot See takes place during World War II,...
