Everything Is Illuminated

I don't know what it was about me and this book, but I tried and tried and tried to get into it and I kept feeling like I was working rather than reading. I have seen numerous people give it glowing reviews, and maybe they are smarter than me, or maybe they have a magic decoder ring that I forget to get. I'm sorry but I found this novel to be impenetrable. Just couldn't do it.

I've read this book so many times, and each time I find something new. It's hearbreaking, hilarious, and sobering, all rolled into one. Highly, highly recommend!

I have a book review blog that reviewed this book on February 2, 2009: [...] "A very good novel split into sections that go back and forth. One narrated by a Ukranian who cannot speak English very well, but it improves as he keeps studying. He works as a translator with his Grandfather for his father's touring business that allows tourists to find old places their ancestors once lived, etc. And he narrates the story of "the... Read Full Review

Jonathan Safran Foer's use of the English language is beautiful. While he has a very different style of writing and it may take a little while to get into it, I don't see what there is not to like. I'm not sure which I liked better- this or his "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," but both are worth the read. A review I could write could not do this work justice. I laughed. I cried... It's a good book.- Lauren

The eccentric and attention-seeking graphics of the bookjacket convey the idea that this book is fresh, daring, kooky, and inventive--and the book is all these things! But it is also serious and thoughtful, touching on universal themes and the essence of what makes us human. With young "heroes" who are sometimes both earnest and sweetly vulnerable, the book contains moments of profound melancholy, as well as deep sadness,... Read Full Review