Rating: 
Summary: 3 1/2 stars. A mostly successful, idiosyncratic first novel
Review: Foer is an extremely talented young writer and this book, in many ways, borders on brilliance, especially given Foer's age (I think he's 23 or 24 which means he probably wrote most of it somewhere between 21-23 years old.) And yet, it's definitely not a book for everyone as it's very idiosyncratic. This is a story of family roots and folklore and family secrets. A character named Jonathan Safran Foer is searching for the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He goes to the Ukraine where Alex Petrov and his grandfather play translator and driver, respectively, to Foer's search. The novel is told in three alternating formats - a novel Jonathan (the character) is writing recounting his family history that he is sending to Alex in chapters to read and review, a novel Alex is writing recounting Jonathan's trip in the Ukraine and their search for the Ukrainian woman who saved Jonathan's grandfather that he is sending to Jonathan to read and review, and letters that Alex writes to Jonathan that accompany the finished chapters of Alex's book. The most entertaining part of this novel is Alex's telling of the story, as his English is not particularly good and he relies on a thesauras in order to explain himself which results in habitual misuse of everything from simple verbs to well-known idioms. That makes for some very entertaining reading. On the other hand, Jonathan's (the character) family history story is filled with often absurd magical realism and takes some getting used to. I rather enjoyed the entire experience even if much of the novel's (and the author's) idiosyncrasies became tiring after awhile.
Rating: 
Summary: Don¿t judge this book by its cover.
Review: 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. I agree with some other reviewers that 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 should establish, once and for all, Foer's credentials as a new talent to watch.
Rating: 
Summary: What's that Smell?
Review: Oh yes, I recognize it. That's the smell of unmitigated failure. Jonathan Safran Foer should get used to it. After a putrid, self-indulgent debut like this one, that smell will stick with him till the day he dies. The poor little tyke, he actually thinks he has a blossoming career ahead of him. There, there, my young delusional writer, you'll get a healthy dose of reality soon enough.
Rating:
Summary: STEP BACK FROM THE HYPE TO APPRECIATE GREAT POTENTIAL
Review: There has been a lot of author/"corporate literature machine"-bashing throughout these reviews (many of them are blistering, yet critically meritorious). I think what happened with this novel is simple: it got everybody's hopes up, and was read too immediately by too many people harboring way too much expectation.
What readers need to remember is, this novel was written by a guy in his EARLY TWENTIES. Take a moment to think about that.
JSF takes a lot of risks with narrative, style, etc., and yes, most of them don't payoff, it's true--but some of them do. The author, Foer, entreats us to something that few writers (few artists for that matter) have the courage to nowadays. It's called DARING. This novel ATTEMPTS uniqueness. Instead of labeling Foer a fraud, we should all be wondering at the sheer *#@*ing magnificence his fourth or fifth novels might contain, 10 or 12 years from now.
Readers like myself who waited a year or so after its release to explore 'Everything is Illuminated' have benefited. For those who still haven't checked it out, a little advice. If you buy the paperback version, tear the front and back covers off the book and trash them as soon as you leave the store. If you buy the hardcover, do so with the jacket. Don't read the reviews. Be as flexible as you can regarding realism and historical facts. Skip around. Try your best to appreciate the pages for what they are.
Rating: 
Summary: A book that grips you from the beginning
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: I agree with the above
Review: I agree with one of the reviews above--this guy wrote a novel in his twenties, and there's something to be said for this. Most people that age can't even imagine doing something such as this. Someone once said, "To write a book--even a bad book--is difficult." And while this may not be the next "Catcher in the Rye," it does have some merit. Perhaps instead of saying how lacking this book is, we should say how we can't wait to see what this guy produces in ten years. Cut him some slack--if anyone is to blame it's the publisher, not Foer. But I don't mean to imply that "Everything is Illuminated" is not up to par--it is, and it's worth a shot. Also recommended: "Naked" by David Sedaris and "The Bark of the Dogwood" by Jackson McCrae
Rating:
Summary: One Wild and Crazy Guy
Review: To answer those quandried about "spleening" -- methinks Foer's character functions it to mean "chastize" or some other term of reprobation.
As for the narrator Alex's use of this kind of misassembled English, Foer stole it from the Wild and Crazy Guys skits of SNL (who stole it from others poking fun at Polish/Czech "accents" by having them speak with a Thesaurian formality). The SNL skits were funny coz they lasted 5 minutes max. Foer's is decidedly NOT funny coz it last hundreds of pages.
And would those one-star reviewers complaining about how Foer's just another corporate packaged, good-looking guy take another look at the guy's dust jacket photo. The guy's a frickin geek mensch or whatever that word is (and this coming from a geek mensch or whatever that word is).
A confusing inpenetrable read that had me pining for whatizname's _The Corrections_.
Rating:
Summary: Eminently teachable and a wonderful read
Review: First of all, loved it. Kudos, JSF, and not just because you're in your 20s (a good book is a good book!). I teach (and study) contemporary American literature, and this book will definitely make it on my next syllabus. Too bad I didn't read it early enough for this year's (although I discovered that more than half my students, smart, sophisticated, well-read college seniors, have read--and loved--it. You have quite a fan club, JSF). A gripping book that plays with multiple genres, voices, and styles, as well as addresses a real condition--that of the relationship of third generation survivors to their unknowable past--this book is certainly an ambitious one. And it works. Speaking of that last bit, the 3rd gen stuff, JSF (hello there, if you're reading your Amazon reviews), I'm convinced we're long-lost cousins. My grandmother was from Lutsk, my grandfather from somewhere around there (not sure exactly--he survived the Holocaust, the DP camp, the trip across the Atlantic . . . and not to long after died. And my mother never asked a lot of questions). Wouldn't that be funny? We should meet up and chat one day. I'm a fan of Ozzie's--damn good coffee. How does that sound?
Rating:
Summary: gripping story well told
Review: This unconventional novel set in a variety of times and places is very much about the imperfectness of human beings. However, Foer manages to portray them all with compassion. Victims of past and future oppression are shown with all their petty faults and strengths, and any character with an inflated ego soon comes to admit some things to himself. This novel is very much about self-examination, and how it enables us to admit to events we cannot go back to and change and accept ourselves, faults and all.
Rating:
Summary: Illuminating
Review: Having been initially put off by the hype this book recieved when it first made its way onto the "scene," I hesitated to read it. But when I finally did I found it thoroughly enjoyable and, well, illuminating. Not in the profound prophetic sense that I thought I would, but in a different manner. The unusual concept and follow-through, along with some of the humor reminded me of A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES or Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD. Especially the latter with its phonetics as far as language descriptions and its humor. Well, that and both books have farting dogs in them. Is this a new trend?
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