Anthony Doerr responds

On the advice of my friend Bob, who said that he thought the author would like to read my reflections on his book, I sent my last post on to Simon and Schuster to forward to Anthony Doerr.  And here is what he wrote back:

Dear Budd Shenkin,

Thanks much for spending some hours with one of my books and for your gracious and lovely blog post. I’m so grateful that you enjoyed the book. And your post spurred me to revisit the parable of the blind men and the elephant, too. 

Wishing you a lovely and bright springtime,

Yours,

Anthony Doerr

I was so pleased to get this!  Isn't that nice?  He seems to be a nice man, and actually, that's what you would expect from All The Light You Cannot See.  When we were discussing the book at our book club last night, I realized how much caring for one another there is in the book.  Everyone cares for Marie-Laure, and you the reader are grateful for each one.  Werner cares for his classmate Frederick.  Werner regrets it when he can't care for his sister Jutta, but he thinks about it.  It's the villains who don't care for anyone, and who don't have anyone to care for them.

I guess I'm still thinking about the book.  A good sign.

budd shenkin