Best Book of 2016

Progressing through books has been slow but continuous this year (like a the monotonous hum of a Christmas singing toy - surely, surely it will have died by now; and yet it still still continues on and on and on) and has not halted. So, even though I am a slow reader, I do relish in the novels I have conquered. And the best of all came right at the end of the year, a tentative suggestion from my auntie, but a trusted one as she has read a multitude of books. And I can honestly say it is the best book of the year, if not further: one of the best books I've ever read.

All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

If intricate descriptions you have never witnessed brings you into a giddy spin, I couldn't throw this book further into your gaze than I am trying to do through the screen right now. Have you ever heard a plane sounding like 'a hum in a seashell', as pigeons 'wheel over the sea'? His 'web of lace' on the back of his hand?

Personally, I obsess over these combinations of vocabulary, but if you need a storyline to persuade a read, this novel has that too:

The story is split between two moving characters: Marie-Laure is a blind Parisian adolescent trying to protect herself and father's treasure, as Germany invades her country; Werner is a German boy, using his self-taught skills to track the enemy. This is 1940s, so war is unstoppable, and it is this that will unexpectantly throw these two together.

However, this is not a love story, which is almost unheard of for a story of two intertwining characters.

Moreover, Dooer flicks between Werner and Marie-Laure every few pages, which meant forgetting information was minimal, so didn't interrupt the story flow.

Personally, I believe this book is an underrated best-seller and would recommend it to anyone (I think my family are pretty tired of hearing about this fact now). So, if you need a read to fulfil a New Years Resolution, or just want an engaging novel to consume, if I could, I would literally place this into your palms.

I have honestly never had a book that 'I couldn't put down' (the old cliche that is used by most reviewers, embedded in the blurb) but with this, I was going to sleep way later than a school night calls for, because I had to read just one chapter.

(If you have any book recommendations, please let me know, as I want to smash my list of reads from 2016.)