If it seems like I'm reading at an incredible pace with all of these posts, I'm not- I'm just catching up by blogging about some of the books I read over the past several months but didn't have a chance to post about.
I don't know why it took me so long to tackle Everything is Illuminated. I read Jonathan Safran Foer's second book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close a few years ago and absolutely loved it. That book was one of the first that used September 11 as a background for the plot and it was a beautiful book.
Everything is Illuminated concerns a young Jewish man (also named Jonathan Safran Foer) who travels to Ukraine in order to learn about his family's heritage and specifically to look for a woman credited in family lore with saving his grandfather during World War II. Arriving in Ukraine, he is met by Alex, a young Ukranian, and Alex's grandfather who will serve as his guides, translators, and chaffeurs. Also along for the ride is Sammy Davis Jr., Jr., the family dog, whom Alex lovingly refers to as a "deranged seeing eye bitch".
The story is told through Alex's narrative and letters to Safran Foer, as well as through a book in progress that Safran Foer is writing regarding his family's history in the semi-fictional village of Trachimbrod. These elements are skillfully woven together, although the device feels a bit self-conscious at times.
One of the major charms of the novel comes in the character of Alex, or more specifically, Alex's broken English and syntax. His writing reminds me of how some of my students will use 'big' words that are synonyms for his intended meaning, and yet somehow miss the mark. Once you capture Alex's cadence, you are in for some laugh out loud moments. This is actually quite a funny novel, but one that also reminds us of the atrocities of the second World War and the lasting damages that resulted from it.
I liked this book, although I liked the follow up novel more. Safran Foer is clearly a very talented writer, but some of this was too clever by half. The novel was turned into a film with Elijah Wood and also won a Jewish Book Award for Fiction.
2 comments:
I'm certainly intrigued.
Glad you cleared up the mystery of the "feast or famine" nature of the posts. I was starting wondering if you were reading 24/7 lately.
Sounds like I need to look for the follow-up first.
It's funny Mike, once I consciously decided to 'make' more time for reading, it was suddenly there. It's meant less TV and computer time, but that's not a bad thing. Once I got into the habit and quit telling myself I was too busy, it became easy. Some day I might only get in 15 minutes before I drop off for the day, but I get up early and spend a few uninterrupted hours on the weekend. I'm also conscious of mixing up long and short, complex and simple so I don't get mired down.
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