All the Light We Cannot See audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
A blind French girl and a German orphan move towards each other through the Second World War, until their lives meet in Saint-Malo in 1944. It leans to print, where the time jumps are easier to follow.
Read it on Kindle
Read All the Light We Cannot See for the way it is built: it opens in August 1944, then “jumps back in time 10 years” (Christian Science Monitor) and moves back and forth between Marie-Laure and Werner as their stories close in on Saint-Malo, which is easier to follow on the page. The prose, which the Star Tribune calls “sweetly lyrical”, suits a slower read, and the novel won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
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The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | Julie Teal (Audible UK), our verdict | Zach Appelman (Audible US) |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Julie Teal | Zach Appelman |
| Length | 17 hours 1 minute (17h 1m), unabridged | 16 hours 2 minutes (16h 2m), unabridged |
| At 1.5x | about 11h 21m | about 10h 41m |
| At 2x | about 8h 31m | about 8h 1m |
| Audio publisher and date | HarperCollins, 8 May 2014 | Simon & Schuster Audio, 6 May 2014 |
| Audiobook price | £21.76 on Audible UK | $22.49 on Audible US |
| Kindle price | £5.99 on Amazon UK | Not listed |
| Fourth Estate paperback, 544 pages, 2015 (UK) | Scribner paperback, 544 pages, 2017 (US) | |
| Listener rating | Performance 4.45 from 3,658 ratings | Performance 4.62 from 59,177 ratings |
Julie Teal’s HarperCollins recording is the one sold on Audible UK, and it is the one scored. Both English recordings have a single narrator, so the tie goes to the newer release (8 May 2014), which is also the UK one. Audible US sells the same Teal recording too.
Zach Appelman’s separate Simon & Schuster recording, praised by Kirkus, is sold on Audible US only as of November 2026. French, German and Spanish recordings are on Audible UK, and no abridged English edition was found. Ratings and prices checked 6 November 2026. Prices change often. US Kindle prices are left out, as Amazon only shows them to US visitors.
Lengths checked 6 November 2026. Speed times are calculated.
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr
- Genre
- Historical fiction
- First published
- May 2014
- Length
- 544 pages (UK paperback)
- On audio
- 17 hrs 1 min, Julie Teal (UK); 16 hrs 2 mins, Zach Appelman (US)
- On screen
- Netflix limited series, 2023
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Checked, not a factor here (10)
The book’s length (3) gives listening 3 points, while the jumping timelines (8) and the lyrical prose (7) give reading 15. That puts it at 74%, leaning to print.
Every book gets the same thirteen checks, set in advance. Verdicts are never paid for or influenced by affiliate links. Last edited 6 November 2026, and rechecked every year as editions and narrators change. Read the checks in full · Is listening the same as reading? See what the research says.
The recording in detail
- Scored
- Julie Teal, HarperCollins Publishers Limited, 2014, 17h 1m, unabridged
- Critic review
- No critic review of Julie Teal’s recording found
- Alternatives
- Zach Appelman, Simon & Schuster Audio (16h 2m), Audible US only
- What you miss
- Nothing printed only that we know of, but the time jumps are easier to follow on the page
What this book actually is
All the Light We Cannot See is Anthony Doerr’s Second World War novel about Marie-Laure, a blind French girl, and Werner, a German orphan, whose lives meet in Saint-Malo in 1944. It opens in August 1944, as Marie-Laure, aged 16, is in the besieged town, and then goes back to the years before.
Netflix released a four-episode limited series on 2 November 2023, directed by Shawn Levy, with Aria Mia Loberti as Marie-Laure and Louis Hofmann as Werner. The book includes wartime violence, bombing and the suffering of civilians and children.
The case for reading it
The structure is the main reason to read. The novel opens in August 1944, then, in Yvonne Zipp’s words, “jumps back in time 10 years”, and the chapters move back and forth towards the day Marie-Laure’s and Werner’s lives meet. Library Journal says it shifts “among multiple viewpoints”, and on the page it is easier to see where and when you are, and to turn back.
The writing is the other reason. Josh Cook in the Star Tribune calls the sentences “clear-eyed, taut, sweetly lyrical and never elusive”, and O, The Oprah Magazine calls the novel “Mellifluous and unhurried”. Prose like this suits a slower read.
The case for listening to it
The case for listening is thinner. The book is long, at 544 pages in the UK paperback, and 17 hours of audio lets you get through it on commutes and walks. Listeners rate Julie Teal’s performance 4.45 on Audible UK.
If you are in the UK, Audible sells Julie Teal’s recording. The Zach Appelman recording that Kirkus praises for its “clear, confident tone” is sold on Audible US only.
The audiobook in detail
Julie Teal reads the whole book alone for HarperCollins, unabridged, in 17 hours 1 minute, released on 8 May 2014. The same recording is also sold on Audible US. We found no critic review of her reading.
Zach Appelman’s separate recording for Simon & Schuster Audio runs 16 hours 2 minutes and is on Audible US only, with Performance 4.62 from 59,177 ratings. No PDF comes with either recording.
Who should ignore this verdict
If you are happy to follow a story that moves between years and characters by ear, the audiobook is a fair way through a long book. If you want to keep track of the years and viewpoints, and take the writing slowly, read it.
Kindle
- 544 pages (UK paperback)
- Follow the time jumps at your own pace
- About 9 hours to read (our estimate)
Related verdicts
The Book Thief
Another Second World War bestseller, partly from the German side.
Where the Crawdads Sing
A book club bestseller built on two timelines.
Hamnet
Prize-winning historical fiction that also leans to print.
Pachinko
A sweeping saga across decades and viewpoints.
The Goldfinch
A long literary bestseller that leans the other way.
A Gentleman in Moscow
Another long historical book club favourite.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates the All the Light We Cannot See audiobook?
On Audible UK the audiobook is read by Julie Teal for HarperCollins. Audible US also sells a separate recording by Zach Appelman for Simon & Schuster Audio.
How long is the All the Light We Cannot See audiobook?
Julie Teal’s UK recording is 17 hours 1 minute, about 11 hours 21 minutes at 1.5x speed and 8 hours 31 minutes at 2x (calculated). Zach Appelman’s US recording is 16 hours 2 minutes.
Is the All the Light We Cannot See audiobook abridged?
No. Both English recordings on Audible are unabridged, and no abridged English edition was found.
How many pages is All the Light We Cannot See?
The UK Fourth Estate paperback (ISBN 9780007548699) has 544 pages.
Is there a TV series of All the Light We Cannot See?
Yes. Netflix released a four-episode limited series on 2 November 2023, directed by Shawn Levy and written by Steven Knight, with Aria Mia Loberti as Marie-Laure, Louis Hofmann as Werner, Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie.
Does All the Light We Cannot See jump around in time?
Yes. The novel opens in August 1944, then jumps back about ten years and moves between the earlier years and 1944 as the story builds.
Whose point of view is All the Light We Cannot See told from?
The story moves between Marie-Laure, the blind French girl, and Werner, the German orphan, with other characters’ viewpoints along the way, all in the third person.
Did All the Light We Cannot See win the Pulitzer Prize?
Yes. It won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Should I read or listen to All the Light We Cannot See?
Read. The novel opens in 1944, jumps back about ten years and moves between Marie-Laure, Werner and other viewpoints, which is easier to follow on the page, and the lyrical prose suits a slower read. In the UK, Audible sells Julie Teal’s recording, not the Zach Appelman one that Kirkus praises.
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