Anthony Doerr
Set in World War II, the story follows two main characters who are both teenagers: a blind French girl and a scientifically gifted German orphan boy. We bounce back and forth (rather quickly) between these two stories until they eventually intersect about 2/3 of the way through. In some ways, this is a fascinating view into regular life in occupied France, and into life as a boy conscripted into the German military machine. However, it felt flat and wrote. Somehow the entire story felt defeatist, without inspiring hope in the characters, or the characters providing hope for the reader. Maybe that was the intent, to immerse yourself in this hopeless world of WWII, but in a fictional novel I want a bit more escapism. Or I want emotional arc (give me hope and then dash it) so I have something to react to.
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