Everything Is Illuminated

The Jewish main character, who has the same name as the author, goes to the Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather's life when the Germans attacked his native village Trachimbrod in World War II. During this quest he is accompanied by Alex, the son of the owner of the travel agency where he has booked his trip, Alex' grandfather and the dog Sammy Davis Junior Junior. A number of story lines are intertwined: Jonathan tells the story of Trachimbrod, Alex the history of the quest and in between we read the letters that Alex writes after Jonathan has returned to the USA.

Alex writes in beautifully wrong English which at times leads to hilarious sentences and the story of the village is also intertwined with anecdotes that made me cry with laughter. But there is an undertow of deep sadness which comes to a climax during the description of the Nazi destruction of the village. A great book that makes you laugh and cry, grips you from the beginning and does not let you go. A fantastic debut of a writer who is only 25 years old.

Kooky and inventive novel of two young men's coming of age. (15/16 people found this helpful)

The eccentric and attention-seeking graphics of the bookjacket convey the idea that this book is fresh, daring, kooky, and inventive--and the book is all these things! But it is also serious and thoughtful, touching on universal themes and the essence of what makes us human. With young "heroes" who are sometimes both earnest and sweetly vulnerable, the book contains moments of profound melancholy, as well as deep sadness, behind its bravado and its finger-snapping brio.

Jonathan Safran Foer, a character bearing the same name as the author, is looking for the woman he believes saved his grandfather Safran from the Nazis. Traveling to the Ukraine, he meets Alex Perchov, a young man representing a Ukrainian travel agency which specializes in taking tourists to the sites of vanished shetls. Alex, a not-quite-fluent translator, and his "blind" grandfather, who serves as the driver, travel with Jonathan to the site of Trachimbrod, his family's village, collecting stories and legends which will help Jonathan learn about his family and his Ukrainian Jewish heritage.

Parts of the book are a bit sophomoric. (How many farting dog jokes does one need? And do we really need to know the details of Grandfather Safran's 132 mistresses?) The fictional Jonathan's letters and comments as he writes a novel about his trip are an artificial device for dealing, perhaps, with the author's uncertainties and/or heading off criticism, while the chapters he includes for Alex's review, are, of course, the actual chapters of this book. And Alex's misuse of language, while often very funny, begins to pall after numerous repetitions.

But these are minor criticisms in view of the author's immense achievement in dynamically presenting two young men as they explore who they are, where they come from, and how they fit in the world. As the sought-after story of each boy's grandfather emerges, the depth and breadth of family relationships and cultural history become clearer to character and reader alike. The dramatic and moving conclusion clearly establishes Foer's credentials as a brilliant new talent. Mary Whipple

Jonathan Safran Foer

Reader Reviews:

A book that grips you from the beginning (0/0 people found this helpful)

Kooky and inventive novel of two young men's coming of age. (15/16 people found this helpful)

Similar Products

Categories