Maybe some AP merit?

As a novel that won the Pulitzer Prize you would think that automatically it would stand out as a book meant for an AP class.  However, in my own opinion, I am not feeling this novel is worthy of being introduced into our AP class.  This is not to say that it is not acceptable for our class, but I feel there are other books which would enlighten our minds just a bit more. Now when the book first started I had high hopes, maybe more of dread, that the book would be littered with symbols, allusions, complex plot, the whole nine yards. I was pleasantly surprised to find the reading very manageable, possibly even easy.  This could have come about with a relative ease due to my background knowledge of European history and interest in World War II stories. I am hesitant to account my new found proficiency with those skills because I have never found an AP book anywhere near the realm of painless before. When I make these notes about easy this is not to say it is like a pop-up book for an illiterate child, the book is dense with knowledge, customs, and thick story-line. What I am referring to is the fact that I have yet to feel the need to re-read chapters for clarification or found myself genuinely confused.

Let me be more concise is what I am getting at.  So, All The Light We Cannot See is not shy to complex emotions and foils. Werner and Marie are superb examples of this, the author is able to show visuals even when Marie is blind, and create Werner as a protagonist even though he is a Nazi.  What I feel the novel is lacking is complexity that many of the other stories we have read had. As with Song of Solomon the story depicted an interesting story line that followed numerous characters as All The Light We Cannot See does. What Song of Solomon adds is complex motives and symbols as well as deeper meaning within in the book.  As with the bobcat scene, Milkman is dissecting a bobcat, but each layer he cuts has a feeling and motive behind it. In addition the flight motif, the novel went full circle f to show how Milkman had grown over his life. I may not have enjoyed the struggle of trying to understand what was happening, but I fully grasped why the book was in this class. I feel when I am reading All The Light We Cannot See I am getting all of the information from the pages there is no context between the lines. This could be my fault entirely, I may not have the brain capacity and knowledge to fully understand the deeper meaning.

I could argue there is more than what is on the pages. I have been playing with the idea of motifs throughout the book and found weather, light/dark, and senses to be key in understanding each character and situations.  It portrayed many dark things are light, but light things as dark which could lead me to hypothesize a anti-norm approach as he has also done with Werner. What I found is I am not struggling as much as I feel I should be. The motifs seem easy to grasp, character analysis is straight forward, and setting is direct to the point.  I know exactly where Marie is at every moment in the book, I am essentially given a drawn out step-by-step list of each time she moves.  What I am trying to get across is the book is great detail, which is fantastic for a slow learner such as myself, but it gives everything out in the open, no need for discussion with others or clarification on a meaning of a sentence.  

Possibly the most important aspect that jumps out at me is the fact that a theme has not started to blossom yet. It begs the question if one will ever come? As an future contender for AP Literature I would argue without a major theme it can not even be put in the running. When it comes to the AP test at the end of the year if this book lacked a theme you would not be able to accurately answer a multitude of essay questions using this novel.  The counter-argument could be made that there are themes such as family and relationships as well as science as a means for progression.  I do see the family connection with Werner and his relationship to his sister as well as the orphan mother. Furthermore the relationship between Marie and her father symbolize an expanse of love. Both characters experience loss and hardship, not quite the same as one is actual present loss and the other is morality as well as past loss. However, is this has not played a huge role moving up to this point this could change as the Nazis grow stronger and their intentions worse. Furthermore as the Nazis become more entrenched in France, where Marie is, family could play a much larger role for strength. If this were to happen my view about its AP worthiness would drastically be shifted.  I am going off what has happened up to this point which puts me on the edge just due to the fact that there is not much complex substance in terms of theme.

Finally the last point I would like to contribute to this is whether or not this author is WORTHY of being read, not just this book, in AP Literature. Now I could be absolutely wrong with the information said above this blog is purely opinion based and what I feel is correct. From others and analylists Anthony Doerr is absolutely acceptable for any AP class. He has won numerous awards including the Pulitzer Prize, runner-up in Dayton Literary Peace Prize, New York Times bestseller, and tens of others.  This alone would call for the good ol check mark from Mrs. Laclair, but his writing also is not limited to lengthy novels he has written short stories, news articles, and all types of genres. This gives him a huge depth in writing style and view. 

Once again I will be signing off, I bid a good day.