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Summary: Finally, a book that made me want to be a writer again!
Review: When I finished this book, I was so upset that it was over I started reading it all over again!
I can't believe people are being so hard on the magical-realism, and the humor, and the structure, when its these things that make this book special
Had the novel ONLY been a contemporary account of a young man's trip to the Ukraine, it would have been boring. It's the Trachimbrod sections of the novel that give it its feeling and humanity, and the contemporary sections that give us a context. They are totally dependent on each other, and Mr. Foer has weaved them together to great effect.
As for the voice of the narrator, Alex, this is what made me pick up the book and buy it in the first place. It's rare when one character totally jumps out at you like this - in a handful of lines, I knew exactly who this person was, and I would've followed him anywhere.
As for the humor in relation to the Holocaust - it has always been my belief that humor is a remarkable tool in the healing process. So many writers have used it in relation to the Holocaust, as well as directors of Holocaust films, etc, that I don't understand why its being made such a big deal of in this novel!
Foer does a remarkable job of creating a world - whether or not you normally believe that certain things are possible, he makes you believe that they are possible in these 288 pages.
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Summary: I've read the book twice
Review: This is the kind of book that you feel like you have to read twice, not only because it's so rich and complex, but because it's such a pleasure. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan.
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Summary: Read the Book not the Hype
Review: Yes, yes, there has been a lot of hype about this book -- book critics seem to falling over themselves to anoint Foer a literary genius. I listen, it perks me ears, but ultimately I am suspicious of such a wave of over-the-top attention. There seems to be some "hot young novelist" every year that gets shoved into the role. I resisted getting the book because of all this. But I loved that New Yorker story that ran last summer, and then several friends have read the book and were practically shoving it in my face. I'm glad they did.
I sincerely loved this book. It's not perfect, to be sure. But it is a book that challenges in all the best ways. Foer weaves three narratives--Alex's much talked about mangled English, his letters to a character named Jonathan Safran Foer, and Jonathan's fictional history of his family's village--in a way that surprises at every turn. I was worried, at the beginning, about the clever conceit at the hear of the book. I wondered if Foer could sustain the trick. Would it be ONLY clever? But what's so wonderful is the way each story bounces off of, connects with, diverges from, the other stories. In this way, Foer doesn't tell a straight story about the Holocuast, exploiting and pulling at our heart strings in all the cliched sentimental ways. Instead, he creates something wildly new, approaching a horrific event from many perspectives, and capturing the profound and difficult truth of memory--that it rewrites the past but in the process reshapes us and binds us in surpising ways to that history.
I can't begin to lay out all the ways this story works. Most importantly, it affected me -- a week after finishing the book, I can't stop thinking about it. Crystalline images, which Foer paints in shockingly beautiful detail,keep coming back to me. The character of Brod alone is worth the price of admission. The humor still resonates; the sadness of the book still has me thinking. The most I can say about this book is that I've given four copies away in the past week alone; I WANT others to read it, just so we can talk about it. I found it that moving and that rich.
There's obviously a lot of people out there resentful of Foer's success -- what else to make of their claims about his personal connections winning him acclaim? Pointing to his family, going to Princeton, etc. I'm sorry, but I really can't imagine that Francine Prose, in the New York Times, Janet Maslin, and all the other critics are doing Foer somekind of family favor. It's absurd. I wanted to hate this book, I am suspicious when the media machinery begins to grind away -- but clearly the critics are responding to the book, and they are rightfully admiring of it. It IS extraordnary. The book is not perfect, but there's no question Foer is a brilliant young writer. I can see making criticisms, but whatever you do, read the book, respond to IT, not the stupid stories about the author's connections. Foer has so much in him, such honestly and depth, and a wild, untamed imagination -- I can't wait to see what he does next.
Rating: 
Summary: The Emperor's New Clothes
Review: I haven't read through all of the reviews, so I could easily be repeating what others have said. I was pulled in by the positive reviews, the branding of the author as genius, and the wide heralding of the great American novel finally having been written ... then I read it.About 50 pages into the book, I gave up on the hype and just wanted to enjoy the book ... but that's not even possible. It is repetitive (dogs farting isn't really funny once, but many times becomes tiresome), and the supposedly fresh voice of broken English becomes old very fast. I generally disregard negative reviews from customers as everyone has different tastes, but this is a bit different since it's barely understandable in many places. If you're looking for a fresh voice in fiction, try Tracy Chevalier, Manil Suri, Ben Rice, or George Saunders. Stay away from this: you've been warned. I know that many will not find this "helpful," but come back and read this again after you've suffered through this mess of a book.
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Summary: defies belief
Review: This first novel defies belief in so many ways. First, that it's a first novel. Wow. It's scary to think about what this author will be writing in twenty years. I hope I stick around long enough to find out. Second, he's only in his early twenties. I'm not even sure I can believe that. Not because of how good a writer he is---and he's great---but because of how wise he is. He must have a very, very old soul. Also, the book is just so damned good that it defies belief. Each sentence was like a little miracle. This book is simply unlike other books. There's so much more energy and heart.
Rating: 
Summary: Read the first couple of pages before you buy this...
Review: If you can stand the way he writes... then go for it. But if I'd read even the first page, I would have been illuminated, and saved myself [$]. It's unbearable. Don't listen to book critics. There is something wrong with them. It's not hard to get four stars on Amazon, and this book couln't, yet these flipping critics loved it. I don't get it.
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Summary: my stomach hurt from laughing
Review: Jonathan Safran Foer scoured the Ukraine to piece together his grandfather's legendary escape from the Nazi invasion. He found nothing. Thank god! A fact-based account of his journey would not match the creative freedom of this work. I am awestruck by the brimming imagination of this 24-year-old--what a first novel! He took the bare framework he had for a story and filled the void with exuberant hilarity that bounces off the pages. The elements of shtetl life are made tangible...he has successfully parodied that which no longer exists. I commend the irreverence with which he makes promiscuous chaos out of shtetl society and geneology. The humour is probably most appreciated by those with a Jewish or Ukranian background, but anyone well-tuned into US pop culture ought to manage. This appealed to me as a young Jew who yearns to better understand his past--familial and cultural. Jew or gentile, anyone who wonders about the torrid secrets behind the stern faces in the family's immigrant photo album will enjoy this book. Foer takes the dysfunction of family and applies it to the long-dead icons who toiled to build the livelihood my generation now takes for granted. Beyond the humor, Foer touches the heart. He fantasizes about the inner sadness of his great-great-great-great-grandmother...going deeper than the one-dimensional, respectful story one would get from Bubbe. He makes bold links between the Ukrainians, who are often portrayed as anti-Semitic, and his fictionalized self. The structure is astute: the lives of the Ukrainians and the shtetl-dwellers parallel each other and collide with brilliant "illumination". Foer does what Jews have always done: manipulated tragedy into comedy. He answers the persistent question: Why didn't the Jews leave before the Nazis came? Without a doubt, this book has its flaws, but I strongly recommend it as essential nourishment for the identity of those who fantasize about the past as I do.
Rating:
Summary: A Mess
Review: Astonishing how hype has taken ovre free thinking in America. The book is imaginative, but it's also a mess. You can tell the writer's young and you can tell it was rushed. You can also tell who's reading it based on these reviews: bored people who have stopped caring about challenging literature in America.
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Summary: russian new yorker
Review: I really wanted to like this book. I have many things in common with the author and the topic of his book. And, I read three glowing reviews. Sadly, I could not get past the first 20 pages. I found his writing style and the use of italics and all caps to be TIRESOME. I don't want to waste my time laboring over this book when I have so many other good books I can't wait to read.
Rating: 
Summary: A luminous new star, illuminating
Review: Take note of the name Jonathan Safran Foer. Here is a promising new writer. And if you want to know more about him (more than the bizarrely designed book cover capsulizes) just read this innovative first novel, as the author makes himself the principal character. EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED sheds a lot of light on Foer's literary if not genetic background. This short novel packs a wallop, mostly due to the method in which it is written. For a quick synopsis of the story refer to the editorial reviews regarding the individual's search for obscure roots, in this case an American Jew travels to the Ukraine in an attempt to understand why his grandfather survived the Nazi invasion. That's all you have to worry about, story wise. But it is the manner in shich this tale is woven that Foer shines. Some of the most hilarious abuse of the English language comes out of the mouth and pen of Alex, a Ukrainian lad who serves as translator for the author's quest in finding the obscure town of Trachimbrod. For this reader, this endlessly creative foray of malapropisms is the highpoint of the book. Foer peoples his escapade with Alex's cranky but lovable grandfather, a farting dog named Sammy Davis Junior, Junior, and a huge supporting cast of quasihistorical characters slowly uncovered in the surreal myth of a simple Ukranian shetl (village). As with any first novel there are areas which need nurturing by experience to live up to the success as a whole. Foer jumps around so much that at times he loses the reader and asks that we actually work (a little too hard at times) to keep up with his story, such as repeating phrases and words incessantly, creating conglomerate sentences/words, trickster verbiage, etc. This may be the author's way of conveying how the desparate mind functions when faced with incredible reality. The design layout from cover to page is cutesy and tends to cheapen the content. But these are personal responses, and afterall "Everything IS Illuminated"! One thing remains clearly illuminated: here is a young author who can handle comedy like a pro, tragedy with sensitivity and truth, who can write stories about people that make a difference in your heart, and who has STYLE!
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