by Anthony Doerr
Published 2014
In the years before and during the Second World War, two lives take shape on opposite sides of an approaching front. In Paris, Marie-Laure goes blind at six, and her father, a locksmith at the National Museum of Natural History, builds her a wooden model of their neighborhood so she can learn to navigate by touch. In a coal-mining town in Germany, orphan Werner discovers a talent for radios so precise that it earns him a place in a brutal Nazi training school and, eventually, a posting to track partisan transmissions across occupied Europe. Their paths converge in the walled seaside city of Saint-Malo in the final days of the war, around a legendary diamond that the museum has smuggled out of Paris. Anthony Doerr's 2014 novel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, is a luminous, carefully assembled portrait of ordinary people carried along by a catastrophe larger than they can see. Told in short chapters that move back and forth across years and cities, it is a book about science, fear, radio waves, and the small, persistent gestures of care by which a human life is held together.
These are AI narrators you can listen to with your own EPUB on ElevenLabs or Fish Audio. How does it work?
Top voices for narrating this book
American · Middle Aged · Female · Narrative Story · Calm
“Matches gender, age, accent, and has a 'measured' and 'warm storyteller' quality appropriate for the narrator.”
American · Middle Aged · Female · Narrative Story · Calm
“Matches gender, age, accent, and the measured, calm, and intelligent tone suitable for a literary fiction narrator.”
American · Middle Aged · Female · Narrative Story · Calm
“Matches gender, age, accent, and offers a calm, warm, and measured cadence suitable for a narrator.”
For listeners: use the Best Narrator voice above in ElevenReader or Fish Audio. Character casting is for authors producing audiobooks with studio tools.
A blind French girl who grows from curious child to resilient young woman. Her voice should convey sensitivity, intelligence, and inner strength.
American · Middle Aged · Female · Narrative Story · Calm
“Despite being middle-aged and American, the 'warm storyteller' aspect might hint at her resilient and gentle spirit.”
Also recommended for: Jutta Pfennig
American · Middle Aged · Female · Narrative Story · Calm
“Lacks the young and French traits, but its calm, warm, and friendly quality could approximate Marie-Laure's gentle and sensitive nature.”
Also recommended for: Jutta Pfennig
American · Middle Aged · Female · Narrative Story · Calm
“While the voice is middle-aged and American (not young French), its calm and reflective nature could convey Marie-Laure's sensitivity and inner strength.”
Also recommended for: Jutta Pfennig
A brilliant German orphan, conscripted into the Nazi regime. His voice should reflect his initial idealism, growing intelligence, and eventual disillusionment.
German · Middle Aged · Male · Narrative Story · Deep
“This is the only male German voice available. While 'middle-aged' and 'intimidating' contrast with Werner's 'young, curious, earnest' initial traits, its 'deep' and 'serious' qualities could, with directed performance, convey his eventual intelligence and melancholic disillusionment.”
Also recommended for: Reinhold von Rumpel
French · Middle Aged · Male · Narrative Story · Calm
“Given the lack of a young German voice, this middle-aged French male voice is calm and friendly, which could be adapted to convey Werner's earnest, serious, and melancholic nature.”
Also recommended for: Daniel LeBlanc
French · Middle Aged · Male · Narrative Story · Calm
“Though a middle-aged French Canadian voice, its calm, warm, and grounded delivery could reflect Werner's initial idealism and eventual melancholic disposition.”
Also recommended for: Daniel LeBlanc
Marie-Laure's protective and loving father, a master locksmith. His voice should be warm, calm, and reassuring, with an undercurrent of quiet determination.
French · Middle Aged · Male · Narrative Story · Calm
“Perfectly matches gender, age, and French accent. The voice is warm, engaging, and calm, reflecting Daniel's protective and gentle nature.”
Also recommended for: Werner Pfennig
French · Middle Aged · Male · Narrative Story · Calm
“Matches gender, age, and French accent. Its warm and grounded qualities align well with Daniel's calm and protective character.”
Also recommended for: Werner Pfennig
A German sergeant driven by greed and a relentless pursuit of a mythical diamond. His voice should be dark, intense, and authoritative, betraying a sinister nature.
German · Middle Aged · Male · Narrative Story · Deep
“An excellent match for gender, age, and German accent. The voice's deep, dark, and intimidating quality perfectly embodies von Rumpel's sinister and ruthless nature.”
Also recommended for: Werner Pfennig
Werner's younger sister, observant and morally grounded. Her voice should convey youthful wisdom and a questioning, perceptive nature.
American · Middle Aged · Female · Narrative Story · Calm
“Despite the age and accent mismatch, the calm, warm, and friendly aspects of this voice could reflect Jutta's gentle and perceptive side.”
Also recommended for: Marie-Laure LeBlanc
American · Middle Aged · Female · Narrative Story · Calm
“While middle-aged and American (not young German), its calm and intelligent tone could convey Jutta's perceptive and gentle wisdom.”
Also recommended for: Marie-Laure LeBlanc
American · Middle Aged · Female · Narrative Story · Calm
“Lacking young and German traits, but the 'warm storyteller' quality could suggest Jutta's underlying perceptive and gentle nature.”
Also recommended for: Marie-Laure LeBlanc