The invisible throught the visible: the novel «All the light we cannot see» by Anthony Doerr

Abstract

Aim The paper deals with the novel «All the Light We Cannot See» by the contemporary US writer Anthony Doerr that got the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015. The aim of the paper is to reveal the author’s writing strategies that determined the book’s success.

Methods The cultural-historical method and close reading have been used. They have helped to reveal the writer’s concept which found its reflection in the choice of the novel’s protagonists, genre characteristics, narrative strategy, original compositional structure, and intertextual links.

Results Various appraisals of A. Doerr’s novel have been discussed. The article shows the writer’s innovative approach to showing the events of World War II through the choice of protagonists, manipulations with the chronotop, exploration of the possibilities of affecting people’s consciousness with the help of technical innovations, radio in particular, attention to a person’s «inner voice» as well as the influence of trauma on people’s behavior in critical situations.

Scientific novelty The novel «All the Light We Cannot See» by Anthony Doerr was published less than 2 years ago and has not been thoroughly studied yet. The paper is aimed at widening the range of most recent books that show the tendencies in the development of contemporary US literature.

The practical significance The paper may be used for further study of contemporary US literature. The results of the research can be used for writing course projects and qualification papers.