All the Light We Cannot See: Genre 1 key example

Historical fiction is a unique genre in that it contends with the interplay of fact and fiction in the retelling of historical events. All history at a certain point becomes narrative, influenced by the perspectives of those who tell the story. Germans even use the same word to speak about history and fictive storytelling: Geschichte. Each historical fiction narrative must reckon with the balance of fact and fiction differently, deciding which meaning of Geschichte to lean into.

In All the Light We Cannot See, Doerr does not seek to replicate the historical time period with too much verisimilitude, opting instead to lean into magical realism. Doerr intertwines fantastical tales of the Sea of Flames with descriptions of battles and firebombing, approaching a dark and somber period in history with uncharacteristic levity. Werner and Marie-Laure's respective imaginative landscapes infuse this grim period with levity, their imaginative machinations lending themselves to a novel that prioritizes symbolism and metaphor over cold, hard, historical fact.