Rating: 
Summary: Clever, but needed a good editor.
Review: I wanted to like this book. The premise is excellent, and it does have moments of brilliance. But it has more moments that drag on and are annoying. It is two stories in - the journey of a young man to trace the roots of his family who survived the holocaust, and a fantasy-fiction-within-a-fiction tale of an old Ukranian shetl. The shtetl section is captivating at times, but is mostly too clever by half. The other part of the story is much better. I listened to the audio version, and the "Ukranian" reader was terrible, he sounded like Steve Martin from Saturday night live pretending to be a Wild and Crazy guy. The whole book would have been much better if it were about 1/2 the number of pages.
Rating: 
Summary: I just didn't get it, either
Review: I am also someone who chose this book based on the rave reviews it received (especially from Book Magazine) I was really looking forward to reading it. I don't consider myself an unsophisticated reader but I found this book to be a huge disappointment - reminded me of the disaster that was "The Corrections" - last year's hot new novel. Here, reading the first chapter written in Alex's broken English gave me a headache; I never did determine what "spleen" meant which was too bad since it's used throughout the chapter and please, someone, tell me what is so funny about a dog that is, for no apparent reason, named Sammy Davis Jr., Jr. I remember thinking, "OK, the first chapter was bad but maybe it will improve; then I read the second chapter which was completely unintelligible. I did figure out that it had something to do with Jonathan's great-great grandmother being born, but that was it- why the sentences written in caps and the psuedo-ironic phrasing? I'm sorry but if you don't get me in the first two chapters, you don't get me. There are too many wonderful books out there waiting to be read to waste time plowing through this deliberately obscure novel.Also, I noted in many of the reviews here "this book has to be read twice to be understood" Excuse me, but how good a book can it be if the author can't tell his story the first time around? Too many peoiple excuse bad writing and plot development with "If you don't get it, you're just noe deep enough"
Rating: 
Summary: A very original book
Review: Think Jerry Seinfeld meets Gabriel Marquez. This book is outrageously funny for the first half of the book. It had me in stitches, especially Alex's half-baked command of English which breathes life into his simplistic, lovable character in the most amazing fashion. The story pans from past to present, back to past and interweaves episodes in the life of Jonathan's forefathers and his very own adventures in search of a woman named Augustine. As the story progresses, the style of writing switches to a pensive and brooding mood - bringing out the horrific accounts of the holocaust (with too few scenes actually) and romantic tales of the protagonist's grandfather, Safran. The love stories were so reminiscent of Marquez that I could've sworn it was co-authored by Marquez himself. So to all the Gabriel fans out there, you'll have something to look forward to! JSF's prose is rather poetic and being not all too comfortable with it, I gather there's a few layers to the story which remain unraveled for me. Overall, a fun read ' light, original, and substantial.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding American Magic Realism
Review: I highly recommend Everything is Illuminated to anyone who can bear to read a senstive, highly imaginative account of the web of emotions, memories, and traditions (i.e., history) destroyed by the Nazi holocaust. Jonathan Safran Foer is probably the American novelist who best carries on the tradition of magic realism, best represented by Gunter Grass's The Tin Drum, Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, I don't get the hype
Review: I generally love neurotic Jewish writers (Roth, Chabon et al), but this one got annoying, he strings the scenes out too long. Some powerful moments, but I was bored often. The reader of the audio version was also unconvincing as a Ukranian.
Rating:
Summary: original, clever and funny - highly recommended
Review: i can't recommend this book enough, especially for people who love language. there are 2 characters telling stories (the structure may confuse some people but stick with it - it's worth it!). the 1st is jonathan, who journeys to the ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather during the holocaust. he also imagines his family's history through generations. the 2nd is his ukrainian translater, alex, whose family also becomes interwoven in the story (along with their dog, sammy davis junior junior!). but what's most wonderful is the WAY it's written. alex has an incomplete grasp of english and comes out with some near poetic expressions - like when he describes his little brother: "it is now evident to me that he will become a very potent and generative man, and that his brain will have many muscles." or "father dubs him clumsy one because he is always promenading into things. it was only four days previous that he made his eye blue from a mismanagement with a brick wall". foer's mastery of english is really proven here, and will make you laugh out loud at times. it's not one of those "should reads" you plow through - it's enjoyable and you'll be sad it ends. the book does have some flaws - i think the ending was weak, for example - but it is a debut novel. and still one of the most original books i can remember reading.
Rating:
Summary: Bright Neon
Review: For more than thiry years (that's right)I have studied Russian language and culture. I also happen to be Jewish. The combination of my two most compelling interests resulted in a book to be savored. When I finished the book I wanted to start reading it again...I even tried to contact Safran at the e-mail address he provided but was unable to do so. I wanted to tell him to keep writing. It was a masterpiece. Very cosmic. Hope you read this, Jonathan.
Rating: 
Summary: I must've missed the illumination
Review: This book is incredibally funny at times, but I just didn't get it. If you put a gun to my head and told me to tell you what actually happens in this book--how it unfolds, I would just say my last prayers. I don't know what happened because I could never tell who was talking to whom. I heard that Burroughs wrote "Naked Lunch", then cut it up and pieced it back together haphazardly. I'm wondering if JSF did the same. I'm not one of those sissies who needs the familiar to be OK either. Nor am I a lightweight--I read and understand many books with meat on the bone. I admire the unconventionality of the novel, but I just could not follow it. I happened to catch a local radio broadcast of this author being interviewed and he said he wrote the book for people who were willing to work at following and understanding the story. Apparently I am not one of those, allthough I tried.
Rating:
Summary: i liked it, so maybe you will too
Review: within reading the first page of this book, i was already laughing out loud. it took me a little while to catch on the the format in which the book was written, and even by the end i was a little confused, but the book was excellent nonetheless. the characters and their adventures kept me entertained throughout. definitely read this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Important (and best) Book of the Year
Review: I have been recommending this book to everyone I know. It is challenging, in every good way. It makes you think, without making you feel like the author's student. In fact, unlike nearly every other book I've read this year (The Lovely Bones, Middlesex, etc.), this book actually assumes intelligence on the part of the reader, and trusts the reader enough to do some pretty daring things. I am so incredibly eager to see what Safran Foer comes up with next. I believe he is the most promising writer in America, in whom we should put our faith.
|
