Eh. I don't see what all the hullabaloo is about. In many ways Anthony Doerr writes beautifully, but for every beautifully spun line is another line that's trite, cliched, and over-done. At one point the protagonist Marie Laure is missing her absent father and her musings prompt the narrator to ask "who knew love could kill youl?" Everyone. Literally everyone knows the pain and dangers of love. From Oedipus circa 400 BC to Romeo and Juliet circa 1585...it's common knowledge and the greatest theme of literature that loving others is messy and can be painful. At first glance the line seems so airy and philosophical, but in actuality, it's garbage. 
 And let's not forget the theft of intellectual property (if not outright plagiarism) from "The Book Theif," when Death is personified as one of the characters prays for the safety of his niece, the narrator writes, "[while] he kneels for a long time beside his bed, the bony figure of Death rides the streets below, stopping his mount now and then to peer into windows. Horns of fire on his head and smoke leaking from his nostrils and, in his skeletal hand, a list newly charged with addresses" (333). 
 Bottom line, the author does a disservice to Holocaust literature with his simplistic views of people and events. Not a single character has depth and heart. The choices people were faced with and forced to make during this horrendous time in history are not easily categorized, but Doerr's character's fit (too) nicely into "good guy" "bad guy." The "villain" is (to steal someone else's analogy) straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. Picture a greedy, cancer-ridden pirate (well...I picture him with an eye patch) limping around Europe trying to obtain the 150 carat diamond from the Museum of National History in Paris. With this found treasure, the evil Von Rumpel will become the great curator of the Nazi Museum and assure his place at the top of the Reich. Yeah...it's that bad. 
 Holocaust history (particularly in literature) demands real scholarship and care. Doerr demonstrates neither of these. One particularly glaring example is the fact that his French characters, under Nazi Occupation, show no sign of starving or going without food from 1941-June of 1944. Not a hint of rations (except sugar). Bread is always available for sale. Ultimately, life under the Nazis? Not so bad. 
 What a dangerous message to send and what a way to shirk one's duty as an author to help readers avoid the dangers of a single story. Please click the link below for a GREAT review demonstrating the cliched ways in which many authors do real damage to Holocaust history and education. 
 https://newrepublic.com/article/12076...