I was very impressed with this book. The characters were extremely vibrant and alive. And really so was the plot. The language the author used was phenomenal, every sentence flowing into the next, and the short sections/chapters created a unique flow. Werner and Marie-Laure were lovely parallel protagonists, their stories marching forward together, and I enjoyed the traits and roles that they played very much. It was such a different exploration of the WWII era that was been written about so extensively, with such new viewpoints on the moral and daily challenges faced by the average person. The auxiliary characters, Jutta, Etienne, Frederick, etc. were fashioned beautifully as well. The "Sea of Flames" was an interesting center point for things, and I would have been fine with it, except that for some reason the von Rumpfel storyline never rang completely true for me. That would be my one complaint here...it seemed like too easy a device to being the protagonists together. But other than that, the reality portrayed by the author was so true and gritty. From the father's disappearance (and the fact that they never find out what happened to him), to Werner never seeing his sister again, to the women's experiences in Germany after the war, to Werner's death and the fact that after all the build up, he really only spent half a day with Marie-Laure. I just felt that each piece of the story that wasn't finished, moved you, or broke your heart a little, did the best possible to portray the loss during that period. All in all, I really appreciate what the author did with this novel.