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Most Helpful Favorable Review
5 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
A Premium Work of Fiction
One of the most original books I've ever read. The writing is ingenius and the story is hauntingly beautiful.
posted by seesnapefly on January 19, 2009
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Annoying read...
While other reviewers gave this a big thumbs up, I was tremendously disappointed with the whole experience. I found it very difficult to follow the story line as it jumped around in flashbacks and even in mid-conversation. Characters were not likeable or very interest...Read More
While other reviewers gave this a big thumbs up, I was tremendously disappointed with the whole experience. I found it very difficult to follow the story line as it jumped around in flashbacks and even in mid-conversation. Characters were not likeable or very interesting. I finished it because I believe in making a judgement on the whole experience. Normally I seek out books that deal with this subject, but I cannot in all good conscience recommend this to anyone.Show Less
posted by Ciao-Bella on February 2, 2012
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seesnapefly
Posted January 19, 2009
I Also Recommend:
A Premium Work of Fiction
One of the most original books I've ever read. The writing is ingenius and the story is hauntingly beautiful.
5 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted July 23, 2007
Outstanding
Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes the way you look at everything: the world, love, hate, relationships, politics. Such is the case with EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED. Now, not everyone is going to warm to this novel, but keep reading: 'Everything is Illuminated' is the story of a young American (also with the name Jonathan Safran Foer, but this is a work of fiction) who travels to Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather from the holocaust. In the process the book tells several stories: the American's trip to the Ukraine, the story of his grandfather and the town history, his Ukrainian translator's personal struggles with family and identity, and his Ukrainian translator's grandfathers experience during the war. These stories are told in different voices, in different chapters interspersed throughout the book. Some of these work better than others, as Foer seems to have a desire to stretch into literary gimmicks that are not always neccesary. But when he gets it right the passages are as moving as anything I have ever read. His variety of voices allows a reflection on certain elements of the story that reinforces their meaning. Writing about love, personal history, death, and living on allows ample opportunity to take on issues that go to the heart of what it means to be human. It also creates the possibility of falling into a bottomless pit of reflection, over-analysis, and huge failure. This book flirts with those pitfalls at times, but never falls in. It creates scenes of incredible trauma, and manages to tell the story in a way that seems real (a significant achievement for a writer born in 1977). I am struggling to even describe the book, which speaks the complexity of the story and the skill in telling it. I am sure that my enjoyment of the book was enhanced by witnessing first hand some of the absurdity of life in Ukraine, but that is only part of the story. This is a riveting book, often spoken of in the same breath as 'Bark of the Dogwood' with its odd cast of characters. A perfect companion to this book, BARK OF THE DOGWOOD, while completely different subject material, is nevertheless as entertaining. Both are great reads all 'round, but EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED is like nothing else on the planet.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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57pop
Posted February 21, 2009
The best author
This is the best book that I have ever read. No one can pull of the beauty of the context. It's deeply felt and imagined. Whoever says they didn't like the ending, they didn't understand. I recommend this to anyone and everyone willing to see things in a new light.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Ciao-Bella
Posted February 2, 2012
Annoying read...
While other reviewers gave this a big thumbs up, I was tremendously disappointed with the whole experience. I found it very difficult to follow the story line as it jumped around in flashbacks and even in mid-conversation. Characters were not likeable or very interesting. I finished it because I believe in making a judgement on the whole experience. Normally I seek out books that deal with this subject, but I cannot in all good conscience recommend this to anyone.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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JEB50
Posted November 15, 2009
We watched the movie too!
Our book club chose the book and planned to watch the movie at the next meeting after we had all read the book. What fun! The movie actually made some scenes in the book make more sense, but the endings were different. Both were somewhat confusing but we really enjoyed discussing what we had read while watching the movie, and having parts we had forgotten enacted before us. We plan to do this pairing again in the future.
As for the book, I really enjoyed the clever language usage of the translator, Borat-style. The author showed great imagination and skill in bringing the reader from a somewhat farcical, humorous beginning to serious happenings in the history of the "blind" grandfather driver. Good read.3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Worth your time.
This book isn't for everyone but if you are in the mood for something thats different and yet so familiar, then I highly recomend this book. I love the way Foer writes, it makes me want to not just read more of the book but to ask questions to find out more and more about everything.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Elroy84
Posted February 1, 2012
A Great Story of Friendship and Discovering One's Roots
What a read. The way Foer handles the dialogue is amazing. His brilliant use of malapropisms to characterize and his incredibly funny lines would make this book a success alone. the story is not all humor though. It is a serious tale of discovery and friendship with a terrible tragedy brooding in the background.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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De_Malkuth
Posted January 9, 2012
Excellent Read!
Everything Is Illuminated gives a deep and intimate glimpse into the tragedy and triumph of the human spirit, well infused with humor. Each character is so richly developed and unveiled in complex layers that you feel like you know them, and laugh at their personality quirks and shed tears when they hurt. As someone who's family is from the Ukraine, and who's grandparents were of an age of some of the characters, it really hit home for me, and gave me profound insight into the strength it must have taken to love and leave behind friends and family to come to the United States.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Kahern
Posted May 5, 2010
I Also Recommend:
Everything Really Is Illuminated (after reading "Everything Is Illuminated")
In this novel, Jonathan Safran Foer follows the journey of a young man, also named Jonathan Safran Foer, who, with the help of a Ukrainian translator, tries to find the woman who saved his grandfather's life. Foer uses magical realism to delve into Jewish history. He blends the line between fiction and nonfiction through captivating, quirky characters you're guaranteed to fall in love with, and he presents them with an original voice. Foer offers a fresh new style and is possibly one of the best modern writers out there. This book offers a fresh and innovative writing style that will truly blow your mind. I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a novel that will change your life.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Larry99
Posted March 1, 2010
I Also Recommend:
Fictional story, real pain
Life is better when we know what is really going on. That doesn't mean that we are happier or that finding out the truth is painless.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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readingrobyne
Posted November 28, 2008
Awesome Storytelling
What a weird, hilarious and heartbreaking story. I loved this book. I've never read anything quite like it. I couldn't put it down. Good work!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted May 16, 2008
Foer is amazing. A true poet.....Bringing out the world's beauty
I loved this book. It was a superb piece of literature. Jonathan Safran Foer is a beautiful poet. Both my girlfriend and I love his work. He takes words and paints you a picasso. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a foolish blowhard.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted September 6, 2006
Jumbled mess with tiny flares of illumination
I was looking forward to this book for a long time. Now that I am finished with it, I can only say that I was disappointed. The writing style was original with some very funny parts as well as deeply moving parts. However, the story jumps around so much that you never really get a good grasp of what makes up any of the characters. I found myself wanting to feel something for the characters but simply couldn't. I will hand it to the author however, because there were one or two lines in the book that really made me think in depth of how the past affects us, and how our actions can stay with us for a life time. Overall, there were some very powerful moments, but they did not have the weight to carry the rest of the story.
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted May 1, 2012
Jhvgg
Hi
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 9, 2012
Funny and thought-provoking
Everything Is Illuminated has one of the funniest and most endearing characters I have ever read in Alex, the Ukranian translator. Alex made me laugh and made me think at the same time. The book asks the reader the question of what he would do if faced with a choice between ideals and loved ones. I know I found myself surprised at what my answer would probably be. This is a story that forces the reader to look at himself and not just the story being told and that is what some of the best books do.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 4, 2012
Seemed promising, but .... :(
Was expecting something great, like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but very disappointed. Interesting concept, but too elongated and content and style not to my liking.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 23, 2012
There are very few books that I cannot get through and this was
There are very few books that I cannot get through and this was one of them. I started and stopped 3 times trying to finish. I almost made, but figured why bother. When recreation reading becomes a chore, it isn't worth it. I didn't warm to any of the characters or writing style. Looks like most enjoyed. Good luck and good reading to others who try.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted February 24, 2012
TERRIBLE BOOK
I would NOT recommend this book to anyone! It was so bad, I deleted it from my NOOK even though I had paid for it!
I'm an avid reader and often read my books over and over....as for this one, I am sorry I ever read it even ONCE!
Don't waste your MONEY or your TIME!1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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OperaLuvrIA
Posted February 22, 2012
Highly Recommended - you must check it out.
Once you understand and get a feel for the author's use of stream of thought prose, you'll enjoy this story. It was one of the 10 best books I've read this decade and I'll think of it any time my "boots are heavy". Some readers may become frustrated early on but believe me your perseverance will pay off in spades.
This is a deeply moving and highly engaging story told through the feelings and actions of Oscar, a young boy whose father died in the collapse of the World Trade Towers on 9/11. Oscar is one of the most interesting characters I've come across in a very long time and getting to be a part of his metacognitive process truly helped me to see the world through his eyes and to truly feel the loss of that day.1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted January 18, 2012
Totally worth every penny...
I wish the books we had to read back in college lit classes were as innovative and thought provoking as this one. I find myself raving about it to anyone and everyone that mentions reading. I would have actually enjoyed writing a paper about this novel, especially Jonathan Safran Foer's amazing ability to make you feel emotionally attached to his characters, even the dog. Unlike many empty, unoriginal, coma-inducing books published these days, this novel is one of substance. It will stick to your soul and keep you satisfied long after you've turned the last page and bought a copy for every one of your friends and coworkers. Enjoy!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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