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Sea of Flames

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I highly recommend the book “All the Light We Can Not See” by Anthony Doerr. It is the finalist for the 2014 National Book Award. It recently received the Goodreads Choice Awards 2014. And when you read it you will know why.
The book alternates between the years of 1934 – 1945 during WWII. And the story follows the lives of two young people, Marie-Laure and Werner. Marie-Laure became blind when she was six and lives in Paris with her father until they have to relocate to the walled citadel Saint-Malo. They take with them the valuable and sought after gem, the “Sea of Flames”. Another character, Werner, an orphan, lives in a mining town in Germany with his younger sister. He has the knack at fixing radios and does it for the town people and later as a member of the Hitler Youth. He develops this skill to survive the brutality of Hitler’s army.
The author writes beautifully about the good in people and what happens to people in the horrors of war.

“This could happen…..”
Station Eleven: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandelindex1
Another 2014 National Book Award finalist and the 2015 Michigan Notable Book winner “Station Eleven” begins with a famous actor, Arthur Leander collapsing on stage while a child actor, Kirsten watches from a distance. This is just before the Georgia flu pandemic sweeps through the world. Arthur dies after an attempt to revive him fails. However, parts of Arthur’s life is told throughout the book. Kirstein survives the pandemic by joining a nomadic group of actors who perform for small ravaged communities around the Great Lakes region. The reality of living in the post pandemic world is told through Kirsten.
Other thought provoking dystopian novels that I’ve read and you might also like: “Never Let Me Go”, Kazuo Ishiguro, “The Road”, Cormac McCarthy, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, Margaret Atwood, “The Circle”, Dave Eggers, “World Made by Hand”, James Howard Kunstler and “When She Woke”, Hiliary Jordan.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

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MY ACCOUNT

269-423-4771

EMAIL US

HOURS

  • HOME
  • CATALOG
  • EXPLORE
    ▼
    • Recommendations
      ▼
      • New Titles
      • What to Read Next
      • Best Sellers
      • Award Winners
    • Resources
      ▼
      • Local History
      • Ancestry: In Library Only
      • MeL Articles & Databases
      • Fold3 Library Edition
  • USING THE LIBRARY
    ▼
    • Ask a Librarian
    • Get a Library Card
    • Library Services
  • eLIBRARY
    ▼
    • Overdrive eBooks
    • MeLCat – Michigan Library
    • Hoopla Digital
    • Fold3 – Historical Military Records
    • Transparent Language
    • Tutor.com
  • CLASSES & EVENTS
    ▼
    • VBDL’s YouTube Channel
  • ABOUT
    ▼
    • VBDL
      ▼
      • Mission and Goals
      • Board of Trustees
      • Friends of the Library
      • Policies
      • Jobs
    • Financial
      ▼
      • Library Funding
      • Annual Report
      • Support the Library
  • LOCATIONS/CONTACTS