Everything Is Illuminated is a novel by author Jonathan Safran Foer, who wrote another book that I’ve read (and you’ve probably heard of), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which was adapted into a movie.
I quite enjoyed Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but I hadn’t heard much about Everything Is Illuminated.
Essentially, I bought it because I liked ELaIC (too much to type more than a few times. Foer definitely has some interesting and creative titles to his name.
Here’s the cover of Everything is Illuminated, which I think is pretty nice:
This is the synopsis of Everything is Illuminated from Amazon:
“With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man — also named Jonathan Safran Foer — sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war; an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior; and the unforgettable Alex, a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan is led on a quixotic journey over a devastated landscape and into an unexpected past.
By turns comic and tragic, but always passionate, wildly inventive, and touched with an indelible humanity, this debut novel is a powerful, deeply felt story of searching: for the past, family, and truth.”
Finally, here’s my review of Everything is Illuminated!
This book hooked me from the very first page. It starts with a letter from Alex in the Ukraine to Jonathan in New York. His writes in English as if he translated each word individually from Ukrainian into English and then used a Thesaurus to make each word more interesting. However, it feels as though he disregards all meaning and this makes his writing gut-splittingly funny and charmingly heartwarming.
As the book went on, I became more and more enthralled with the characters and what would happen to them, but I also enjoyed the reading of the story less. It is a difficult feeling to describe.
I also definitely didn’t like the ending. I hate to be like that, but not liking the end of a story really dampens how I feel about it.
Other Noteworthy Stuff
The story was really unique. This is not something you’re going to recognize other storylines in. The perspectives were different and refreshing, and the conflict is particular and quirky.
The narrative structure is different as well, flipping back and forth between narrators Alex and Jonathan. It also includes letters from Alex to Jonathan. I felt this really helped the story along, and if it only had one perspective, it would have felt much more arduous to read.
Overall, 4/5 stars.
I didn’t like the direction the plot took and enjoyed reading the book less and less as it went on. However, I still thought it was an enjoyable and interesting reading experience.
Happy reading!
– Paperback Patronus