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Everything is Illuminated

Jonathan Safran Foer

Start date: June 1, 2013

Finish date: August 31, 2013

Discussion: Quarterly Theme Reads

Discussion leader: Zara's Retreat

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Quarterly Theme Reads

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By Jack , Founder · 6 posts · 115 views

last updated Feb 23, 2013 03:25AM

September - November
By Zara's Retrea… · 1 post · 47 views

last updated Aug 28, 2013 11:52PM

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Sep 15, 2017 Elena rated it liked it · review of another edition

Tre stelle e mezza!

Prima cosa: questo libro mi è stato regalato da una cara amica per il compleanno, quindi grazie Katia :)
Seconda cosa: proprio perché questo libro è stato un regalo, appena l'ho iniziato a leggere ho avuto paura. Al primo giorno di lettura ho letto solo le prime 30 pagine che non mi sono piaciute. L'ho trovato incasinato, scritto in modo insolito e artificioso. Allora stavo già pensando di dover dire alla mia amica: "grazie, l'ho letto ma non mi è piaciuto. Ho apprezzato lo ste Tre stelle e mezza!

Prima cosa: questo libro mi è stato regalato da una cara amica per il compleanno, quindi grazie Katia :)
Seconda cosa: proprio perché questo libro è stato un regalo, appena l'ho iniziato a leggere ho avuto paura. Al primo giorno di lettura ho letto solo le prime 30 pagine che non mi sono piaciute. L'ho trovato incasinato, scritto in modo insolito e artificioso. Allora stavo già pensando di dover dire alla mia amica: "grazie, l'ho letto ma non mi è piaciuto. Ho apprezzato lo stesso, perché mi piace sempre e comunque quando mi regalano un libro ma, la prossima volta andrà meglio."
Poi, il giorno dopo l'ho continuato, ho iniziato a capirci qualcosa e tutto, piano piano, ha acquistato un senso.
L'autore ricorre all'espediente del viaggio per scoprire il passato di suo nonno e della donna che l'ha salvato durante la guerra e della narrazione da due punti di vista: il suo e quello di Alex, il suo amico ucraino che lo accompagnerà, insieme a suo nonno e al cane, nel viaggio.
Mi è piaciuto anche se credevo che avrei letto un romanzo normale, cioè non scritto così. Poi iniziare a raccontare la storia dalla sua più volte bis nonna è stato azzardato perché tutti i personaggi avevano nomi strani, tutti erano personaggi eccentrici. Ha tutto senso però all'inizio sono rimasta spiazzata, è stata una vera e propria sorpresa. Poi ho capito le intenzioni dell'autore e l'ho trovato ben riuscito: non tutti sarebbero stati capaci di fare quello che ha fatto e soprattutto non al romanzo d'esordio.
Questo romanzo mi ha sorpresa e mi ha fatto anche ridere e adesso sono contenta di aver letto prima questo di Molto forte incredibilmente vicino!
Credo di poter dire che cercherò di leggere tutti i libri di Foer perché sì, all'inizio pensavo di aver iniziato un libro che faceva schifo, però è anche bello leggere ogni tanto dei libri diversi dal solito, sia per i temi trattati che per il modo in cui sono scritti. E la bravura di certi autori si vede anche da questo. ...more

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Jul 07, 2013 Michael rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: this-years-books, award-winners-to-read, novels, historical-fiction, contemporary

For now this a place holder as I need to digest what I just finished.

So many different part of one story. Some funny, some poignant. some heartbreak.

There are hero in this world. People who stand out and stood up, and that why they are special. But for most it about survival and protecting some and throwing other to the wolfs and living with that horror and the sadness that brings.

That is just one the question and there are so much more in here, and it going to take a bit to sort it out but for ...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Lorraine rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction

My feelings for this novel were highly polarized. During the first half particularly, I would laugh out loud and think "brilliant!" Foer's study of the subtle aspects of human behavior edged on genius. He tacked the undercurrents of human motivations and reflections with skill. Irony served as the major illminant, making what is uncomfortable to admit easier to take into the bones. Also, there was a feeling of connectivity, the human condition presented so absurdly and with such unflinching trut ...more

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May 19, 2013 Christen rated it it was amazing

Everything Is Illuminated was a very different book than I have read before.

The story is about an American, Jonathan, who comes to Ukraine to do research on his ancestors in order to write a book. He doesn't speak the language, so he hires a translator, Alex, to assist him with the writing, and also with transportation and communication with locals. Also, there is Grandfather (Alex's) and Sammy Davis Junior Junior, the "seeing-eye bitch." There are three different parts within the book, which ar Everything Is Illuminated was a very different book than I have read before.

The story is about an American, Jonathan, who comes to Ukraine to do research on his ancestors in order to write a book. He doesn't speak the language, so he hires a translator, Alex, to assist him with the writing, and also with transportation and communication with locals. Also, there is Grandfather (Alex's) and Sammy Davis Junior Junior, the "seeing-eye bitch." There are three different parts within the book, which are cycled through chapter-by-chapter. There are letters written from Alex to Jonathan, there is the story that is being written and translated, and there are also chapters focusing on Jonathan's time in Ukraine.

The letters are priceless. While Alex does speak English, he continually butchers the language and I was literally laughing out loud with some of the things he says. When you consider translations, he's totally correct in what he is saying, but it is not a typical way to describe something. For instance, sleeping is "manufacturing Z's."

The pieces of the book being written are wonderful and the language is pretty spot on. It's simply telling the story, so it's what one would expect.

The accounts of Jonathan's visit to Ukraine are quite unique. Because it is written in the first-person from Alex's perspective, there is still quite a bit of "strange" language translations, but it's not to the extent that the reader can't determine what is being said. In all cases, it was simply hilarious. The interactions that go on with Grandfather and Sammy Davis Junior Junior are wonderful.

The formatting in this book is a little different than I'm accustomed to seeing. The letters and the book being written are fairly standard, but in the chapters where Jonathan and Alex are together, the formatting is much different. There are no separations between people talking. There were whole pages that were a conversation between three people, and there wasn't a single line break. Just different sentences in quotations. At first, this was really distracting, but after I got used to it, I was able to differentiate who was talking without counting sentences. I actually found, about halfway through the book, that this formatting actually added to the emotion of the characters.

This book runs through so many emotions, and shows so much character development. This book could almost be split in half with the first half being more comedic and light-hearted, and the second half being really heavy, evoking many feelings of sadness. Towards the end, there were actually a couple of chapters that were hard to read and left me in tears. This was one part where the formatting I mentioned above really added to the emotion and helped to express the character's feelings more fully. It was also refreshing to detect so many changes in the characters, and the changes were even expressed by Alex in some of his letters.

I won't lie, the end left me a little empty, but I think a lot of it was due to the heaviness of the final chapters. While I feel like everything was definitely brought to a close, I just felt like I wanted a little more. I was satisfied, but still wanting just a bit more. Nevertheless, it was a five-star read. ...more

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