All the Light We Cannot See

Summer Reading Supplement

Saint-Malo, France

The story begins in August 1944, in the coastal French town of Saint-Malo. Here is a map from around that time period:

Here is a current map. One of our protagonists, Marie-Laure, lives on Rue Vau Borel. (“Rue” is the French word for street.)

If you are curious about any of the other places mentioned in the novel, here is a link for a Google map, which has many of the places

mentioned in the book labeled:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=

1T8me-6R5xB7yB0TEGqiODcK7uqg&usp=sharing

Before Marie-Laure lives in Saint-Malo, she lives with her father in Paris. Here is an old map from that time period:

If you look carefully, you can see Le Jardin des Plantes, where Marie-Laure’s father works at the National Museum of Natural

History. They live nearby on a street that is a block away from the intersection of Rue Mirbel and Rue Monge. (A possible spot for

their apartment is marked with a little house on the Google map.)

https://drive.google.com/open?id=

1T8me-6R5xB7yB0TEGqiODcK7uqg&usp=sharing

Marie-Laure spends a lot of time wandering throughout the Museum of Natural History. Here are some old photographs of the

museum from that time period:

When Marie-Laure is growing up in Paris, another of our protagonists, Werner Pfennig, is growing up three hundred miles to

the northeast in an orphanage in Zollverein, Germany. Zollverein is known for its coal mine. In fact, the whole industrial

complex was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. People visit it to view the complete installations of a

historical coal-mining site: the pits, coking plants, railway lines, pit heaps, miner’s housing and consumer and welfare

facilities. They also visit it for the surprising beauty of its Modernist architecture.

Werner becomes fascinated by radios, teaching himself how

they work and how to build and fix them. At one point he is

asked to repair a very fancy Philco radio. It probably looked

like this:

For a while Werner and his sister, Jutta, have their own, This song is mentioned a number of times throughout the

much simpler radio. They hear a variety of programs. novel. Here is a link for a recording of American

One program plays music by Debussy called “Clair de Lune.” pianist Van Cliburn playing the song. (It’s definitely worth

listening to this.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s2QZU9RY3Y

Werner is sent to study at Schulpforta. Here is a photograph Marie-Laure, meanwhile, is reading books such as

from that time period: Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days and

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Pupils marching over the courtyard of the 'National Political

Institute of Education' in Schulpforta near Naumburg (Saale)

January 01, 1944| Credit: ullstein bild

Werner has a classmate who loves the work of John James Later, when Werner is sent to war, he and

Audubon. Here is a particular print that is mentioned in four other soldiers ride around in a military

the novel: vehicle called an Opel Blitz. Here is a photo-

graph of one from that time period:

John James Audubon’s

“Aquatic Wood Wagtail”

Given that the story takes place during World War II, this chart of German military ranks might be helpful:

When Marie-Laure is living in Saint-Malo, another character,

Harold Bazin, shows her a grotto beneath the wall. It is where,

many years before, the city kennel keepers would keep mastiffs,

the guard dogs of the city, “les chiens du guet.”

Now, apparently, there’s a restaurant and a hotel where this grotto used to be.

As the epigraph of the novel says, “In August 1944 the historic walled city of Saint-Malo, the brightest jewel

of the Emerald Coast of Brittany, France, was almost totally destroyed by fire….Of the 865 buildings within

the walls, only 182 remained standing and all were damaged to some degree.”

--Philip Beck

Lee Miller photo of a ruined street in St Malo, 1944

Here is a photograph of the famous wartime photographer,

Robert Capa, taking a picture of German officers surrendering

near Saint-Malo.

While the story is fairly straightforward, some of the

vocabulary in the novel is challenging. Here is a list

of words, with page numbers in parentheses, along

with definitions that make sense in the context. You

don’t need to learn these words, but you might find

having the list nearby helpful. (3) rampart, n.: a tall, thick stone or dirt wall that is built around a

castle, town, etc., to protect it from attacks (4) chevron, n.: a badge or insignia consisting of stripes meeting at

an angle (4) emplacement, n.: a prepared position, such as a mounting or silo,

for a military weapon (4) bombardier, n.: bombardier (rank), rank equivalent to corporal

used in some artillery corps; Bombardier (aircrew), crew member on

a bomber aircraft (5) rue, n.: French for “street” (5) perforated, adj.: pierced with a hole or holes (5) reticulated, adj.: resembling a net or network; especially: having

veins, fibers, or lines crossing (5) atrium, n.: a large open air or skylight covered space surrounded

by a building (7) staccato, adj.: cut short or apart in performing: disconnected (7) emissary, n.: a representative sent on a mission or errand (7) corsair, n.: a pirate, a privateer (7) lintel, n.: a structural horizontal block that spans the space or

opening between two vertical supports (8) fresco, n.: a painting done on a wall, painted onto fresh plaster (8) diaphanous, adj.: sufficiently thin or airy as to be translucent (11) tenuous, adj.: flimsy, weak

(11) extirpation, n.: extermination, complete removal (15) stentorian, n.: loud, earsplitting, raucous (15) breech, n.: an opening in a gun where bullets are loaded (16) salvo, v. to release a simultaneous discharge of firearms (24) trundle, v.: to move noisily on wheels (24) ambrotype, n.: n early type of photograph, made by placing a

glass negative against a dark background (24) reichsmark, n.: the currency in Germany from 1924—June

1948 (25) dormer, n. a roofed structure, often containing a window, that

projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof (26) paltry, adj.: lacking in importance or worth, trivial (27) congenital, adj.: existing at or before birth (27) cataract, n.: a clouding of the lens in the eye leading to a

decrease in vision (27) bilateral, adj.: involving both sides (27) flat, n.: an apartment (28) warder, n.: a person who guards something, a caretaker (29) escutcheon, n.: a flat piece of metal for protection and often

ornamentation, around a keyhole, door handle, or light switch (29) humus, n.: earth, ground (29) lobelia, n.: an attractive annual herb with delicate, dainty

blooms of purple, pink, white and blue

(32) refectory, n.: a dining room, especially in boarding schools and

monasteries (36) facsimile, n.: copy, reproduction (38) solenoid, n.: a cylindrical coil of wire acting as a magnet when

carrying electric current (39) consistory, n.: a church council (39) storm trooper, n.: a specialist soldier in the German Army (40) runnel, n.: a rivulet, a brook, a small stream (46) valet, n.: a male servant who served as a personal attendant to

his employer (47) shortwave, n.: a radio wave of a wavelength between about 10

and 100 m (and a frequency of about 3 to 30 MHz); used for long

distance communication (48) ardent, adj.: enthusiastic or passionate (53) ionosphere, n.: a shell of electrons and electrically charged

atoms and molecules that surrounds the Earth (59) redoubt, n.: a temporary or supplementary fortification,

typically square or polygonal and without flanking defenses (62) Kameradschaften, n.: German for convent school (63) the Reich, n.: the German state (63) imperturbable, adj.: incapable of being upset or agitated; not

easily excited (63) coke, n.: a solid fuel made by heating coal in the absence of air

so that the volatile components are driven off (63) billet, n. a comparatively narrow, generally square bar of steel (66) dispensation, n.: exemption from a rule or usual requirement (66) synchrony, n.: simultaneous action, development, or occurrence (69) smelter, n.: an installation or factory for smelting a metal from

its ore (70) cadre, n.: a small group of people specially trained for a

particular purpose or profession (70) courier, n.:a messenger who transports goods or documents, in

particular (70) redolent, adj.: fragrant or sweet-smelling (70) zeppelin, n.: a large German dirigible airship of the early 20th

century

(70) transmute, v.: change in form, nature, or substance (81) brogue, n.: a strong outdoor shoe (82) superheterodyne, n.: a receiver that used a system of radio

reception in which the receiver produces a tunable signal that is

combined with the incoming signal to produce a predetermined

intermediate frequency, on which most of the amplification is

formed (82) gadrooned, adj.:decorated with ornamental notching or carving

of a rounded molding (82) attenuator, n.:a device consisting of an arrangement of resistors

that reduces the strength of a radio or audio signal (83) tintype, n.:a photograph taken as a positive on a thin tin plate (84) verbatim, adj.:in exactly the same words as were used

originally (84) Philco, n.: a company founded as Helios Electric Company,

renamed Philadelphia Storage Battery Company; a pioneer in

battery, radio, and television production (87) gendarmes, n.: an armed police officer in France and other

French-speaking countries (96) desolate, adj.: bleak, stark, dismal, grim (96) cadence, n.: a modulation or inflection of the voice (102) welter, n.: a large number of items in no order; a confused

mass (113) itinerant, n.: person who travels from place to place (113) raciological, adj.: Having to do with the study of race as a

scholarly discipline, the study sometimes called "racial

anthropology" or "scientific racism". (117) lorry, n.: a large, heavy motor vehicle for transporting goods

or troops; a truck (117) Stuka, n.: a type of German military aircraft (the Junkers Ju

87) designed for dive-bombing, much used in World War II. (123) long-wave, n.: a radio wave of a wavelength above one

kilometer (and a frequency below 300 kHz) (134) heterodyne, adj.: of or relating to the production of a lower

frequency from the combination of two almost equal high

frequencies, as used in radio transmission

(135) davenport, n.: an ornamental writing desk with drawers and a

sloping surface for writing (138) phrenologist, n.: one who practices an analytical method

based on the belief that certain mental faculties and character traits

are indicated by the configurations of the skull (138) byzantine, adj.: (of a system or situation) excessively

complicated, typically involving a great deal of administrative detail (139) ambulatory, n.: a place for walking, especially an aisle around

the apse or a cloister in a church or monastery (139) asceticism, n.: severe self-discipline and avoidance of all

forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons (139) virtuosic, adj.: characteristic of someone who has special

knowledge or skill in a field (142) empyrean, adj.: belonging to or deriving from heaven (143) prelate, n.: a bishop or other high ecclesiastical dignitary (145) gannet, n.: a large seabird with mainly white plumage, known

for catching fish by plunge-diving (147) halyard, n.: a rope used for raising and lowering a sail, spar,

flag, or yard on a sailing ship (148) oscillator, n.: a device for generating oscillating electric

currents or voltages by nonmechanical means (149) ohmmeter, n.: an instrument for measuring electrical

resistance (150) rhea, n.: a large flightless bird of South American grasslands,

resembling a small ostrich, with grayish-brown plumage (157) temporal, adj.: of or relating to time; material, mundane (158) preamble, n.: a preliminary or preparatory statement; an

introduction (164) fougere, n.: a fragrance that consists of a blend of several oils

or scents (such as lavender, citrus, or moss) (164) vitrine, n.:a glass display case (166) morphology, n.: the branch of biology that deals with the form

of living organisms, and with relationships between their structures (168) dictum, plural: dicta, n.: a formal pronouncement from an

authoritative source

(169) atavistic, adj.: relating to or characterized by reversion to

something ancient or ancestral (171) saboteur, n.: a person who engages in sabotage (173) loupe, n.:a small magnifying glass used by jewelers and

watchmakers (191) emissary, n.: a person sent on a special mission, usually as a

diplomatic representative (191) linden, n.:a deciduous tree with heart-shaped leaves and

fragrant yellowish blossoms, native to north temperate regions (191) callow, adj.: (especially of a young person) inexperienced and

immature (191) blazonry, n.: heraldic devices or armorial bearings (196) laconic, adj.: (of a person, speech, or style of writing) using

very few words (201) tephra, n.: rock fragments and particles ejected by a volcanic

eruption (202) caul, n.: a woman's close-fitting indoor headdress or hairnet (202) serrated, adj.: having or denoting a jagged edge; sawlike (205) reparations, n.: the making of amends for a wrong one has

done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been

wronged (208) sporadically, adv.: (of similar things or occurrences)

appearing or happening at irregular intervals in time; occasional (208) ampule, n.: a sealed glass capsule containing a liquid,

especially a measured quantity ready for injecting (208) brasserie, n.: an informal restaurant, especially one in France

or modeled on a French one and with a large selection of drinks (208) gibbet, n.: a gallows (210) ministrations, n.: the provision of assistance or care (210) wraith, n.: ghost, specter, spirit (225) prefecture, n.: a district under the government of a prefect (227) nefarious, adj.: (typically of an action or activity) wicked or

criminal (234) query, n.: a question, especially one addressed to an official or

organization

(235) dowager, n.: a widow with a title or property derived from her

late husband (242) burgeon, v:. begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish (273) lugubrious, adj.: looking or sounding sad and dismal (329) partisan, n.: a strong supporter of a party, cause, or person (349) commissariat, n.: a department for the supply of food and

equipment (354) sycophantic, adj.: servile, groveling, fawning (361) arrondissement, n.: a subdivision of a department in France,

for purposes of local government administration (361) simpering, adj.: smiling or gesturing in a coy manner (361) redolent, adj.: strongly reminiscent or suggestive of

(something} (361) immitigable, adj.: unable to be made less severe or serious (364) pilastered, adj.: distinguished by rectangular columns,

especially ones projecting from a wall (364) crenelated, adj.: having open spaces at the top of a wall so that

people can shoot guns and cannons outward (365) seismic, adj.: of enormous proportions or effect (365) plangent, adj.: (of a sound) loud, reverberating, and often

melancholy (366) defilement, n.: the action of making foul, dirty, or unclean (375) howitzer, n.: a short gun for firing shells on high trajectories at

low velocities (388) sawyer, n.: a person who saws timber for a living (402) cataclysm, n.: a sudden violent upheaval, especially in a

political or social context (404) quatrefoil, n.: an ornamental design of four lobes or leaves as

used in architectural tracery, resembling a flower or four-leaf clover (404) palmate, adj.: (of a leaf) having several lobes (typically 5–7)

whose midribs all radiate from one point (416) petite cachotiere, n.: French for secretive, little girl (417) agoraphobia, n.: extreme or irrational fear of crowded spaces

or enclosed public places (435) scuttle, v.: to sink a ship by cutting holes through the bottoms

or sides

(437) embrasure, n.: a small opening in a parapet of a fortified

building, splayed on the inside (481) impassive, adj.: not feeling or showing emotion (492) malacologist, n.:one who studies the branch of invertebrate

zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or

molluscs)