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Jonathan Safran Foer
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Everything is Illuminated Paperback – January 1, 2003

by Jonathan Safran Foer (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 2,008 ratings
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'An astonishing feat' - "The Times". A young man arrives in the Ukraine, clutching in his hand a tattered photograph. He is searching for the woman who fifty years ago saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Unfortunately, he is aided in his quest by Alex, a translator with an uncanny ability to mangle English into bizarre new forms; a 'blind' old man haunted by memories of the war; and an undersexed guide dog named Sammy Davis Jr, Jr. What they are looking for seems elusive - a truth hidden behind veils of time, language and the horrors of war. What they find turns all their worlds upside down.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Books
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    5.04 x 0.71 x 7.76 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780141008257
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0141008257
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0141008253
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; 17th edition (January 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780141008257
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141008257
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.04 x 0.71 x 7.76 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 2,008 ratings

About the author

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Jonathan Safran Foer

Jonathan Safran Foer

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Jonathan Safran Foer is the author of the bestseller Everything Is Illuminated, named Book of the Year by the Los Angeles Times and the winner of numerous awards, including the Guardian First Book Prize, the National Jewish Book Award, and the New York Public Library Young Lions Prize. Foer was one of Rolling Stone's "People of the Year" and Esquire's "Best and Brightest." Foreign rights to his new novel have already been sold in ten countries. The film of Everything Is Illuminated, directed by Liev Schreiber and starring Elijah Wood, will be released in August 2005. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has been optioned for film by Scott Rudin Productions in conjunction with Warner Brothers and Paramount Pictures. Foer lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
2,008 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book compelling and enjoyable to read. They appreciate the engaging storyline with its use of fantasy and surrealism. Many find the humor amusing and entertaining, combining wit and intellectual depth. The book is described as heartwarming, poignant, and tragic at times. It's considered a worthwhile read for customers. However, opinions differ on the writing quality - some find it well-written and spot-on, while others feel it's overwritten and difficult to follow.

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ReadabilityStory qualityHumorHeartwarmingValue for timeAuthenticityWriting qualityCharacter development
85 customers mention "Readability"71 positive14 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-crafted. They describe it as a creative masterpiece with an interesting format that is difficult to follow. Readers appreciate the powerful images and writing style.

"...And it shall stand as one of the great creations of literature in the 21st Century." Read more

"This book has some powerful images and occasionally powerful writing, but it is gratuitously difficult and obtuse...." Read more

"This superb book is outstanding, combining wit and intellectual depth. Truly exceptional" Read more

"...I got this book because I very much enjoyed the movie..." Read more

57 customers mention "Story quality"45 positive12 negative

Customers find the story compelling and intertwined. They appreciate the use of fantasy and surrealism to tell a story that is difficult to describe. The book brings shtetl life to life with poignant moments and makes them think and reconsider. Readers say the author skillfully interweaves his past and present, taking them on an interesting journey.

"...This is not an easy read, but it is so rewarding, both in its comic highs and tragic lows, that to miss it is to miss out...." Read more

"...The author is entitled to write a book that uses fantasy and surrealism to tell a story that is brutally hard to tell directly, but getting the..." Read more

"...The writing is brilliant; the characters are memorable; the story is moving. Read it. Enjoy. Al" Read more

"...Complex, human, insightful of horrors of WWII, a thought-providing story." Read more

44 customers mention "Humor"42 positive2 negative

Customers find the book humorous and entertaining. They appreciate the humorous situations and wit that blend with the sad topics. The book is described as quirky and interesting, making it a joy to read.

"This book had full of unexpected turns and tragic endings, all centered on a young guy boy named Jonathan who traveled to Ukraine to find Augustine—..." Read more

"...This riveting, hilarious, deeply disturbing and sad book is not like anything I've ever read. I don't know higher praise...." Read more

"This superb book is outstanding, combining wit and intellectual depth. Truly exceptional" Read more

"...Everything is Illuminated is a touching, quirky and interesting book. I especially loved the depiction of Eastern Europe...." Read more

27 customers mention "Heartwarming"27 positive0 negative

Customers find the book heartwarming and poignant. They describe it as humorous and tragic at the same time. The book is described as passionate, emotional, and romantic.

"This book had full of unexpected turns and tragic endings, all centered on a young guy boy named Jonathan who traveled to Ukraine to find Augustine—..." Read more

"...This riveting, hilarious, deeply disturbing and sad book is not like anything I've ever read. I don't know higher praise...." Read more

"This is a magnificent allegory in words; for while the language of a boy becomes comically enriched by his misunderstood thesaurus, but by the end..." Read more

"...He is an accidental comic, brutally honest, heroic, and tragic at the same time." Read more

7 customers mention "Value for time"7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's value for time. They say it's worth reading and well worth the author's effort.

"...let anybody who might care know that they should rush to it; it is worth the rush." Read more

"...Nevertheless, it is definitely worth reading." Read more

"...take 50 pages to get the hang of what he's done -- but it is so worth the effort...." Read more

"...The Ukrainian/English dialogue alone is worth owning this book...." Read more

5 customers mention "Authenticity"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's authenticity. They find it hilarious and real with true humor in some situations. The book is described as confusing, romantic, and serious fiction mixed with non-fiction elements.

"...He is an accidental comic, brutally honest, heroic, and tragic at the same time." Read more

"...It’s hilarious and real and I highly recommend it.❤️" Read more

"...It's funny and sad and confusing and romantic and serious fiction and non-fiction all at the same time. Nuff said." Read more

"...There is true humour in some of the situations, and the complexities and ambivalence are well dealt with...." Read more

74 customers mention "Writing quality"38 positive36 negative

Customers have mixed views on the writing quality. Some find the story and ideas well-written, with witty use of words and different voices. Others describe it as not an easy read, overwritten, or written in broken English.

"...All the loves and hates; all the lies and truths; all the fidelities and adulteries; all the deceits and deceptions; all the horrors and the ghosts..." Read more

"...This is not an easy read, but it is so rewarding, both in its comic highs and tragic lows, that to miss it is to miss out...." Read more

"This book has some powerful images and occasionally powerful writing, but it is gratuitously difficult and obtuse...." Read more

"...The fractured English of Alex, the young Ukrainian translator, highlights the absurdity of many of the situations that Alex and Jonathan find..." Read more

14 customers mention "Character development"8 positive6 negative

Customers have different views on the character development. Some find the characters personified well, with humor amidst a sad topic. Others mention that the characters are predictable and two-dimensional, lacking depth, and not true to life.

"...The writing is brilliant; the characters are memorable; the story is moving. Read it. Enjoy. Al" Read more

"...is Illuminated" are somewhat well written, to me the characters do not ring true--they read like an American's fantasy of Eastern European Jews...." Read more

"The main character is named after the author, that's the first strange thing about this novel...." Read more

"...Exceptt for the translator, the characters were predictable, and two-dimensionsal...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Jon Linden
    5.0 out of 5 stars Illumination is more than a candle in the darkness, and frequently LESS
    Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    Foer does nothing less than create a true work of literary genius in this book. When Foer says, "Everything Is Illuminated" he really means everything. All the loves and hates; all the lies and truths; all the fidelities and adulteries; all the deceits and deceptions; all the horrors and the ghosts; all the atrocities and the kindnesses, all these things, Foer illuminates for the reader.

    The premise of the book is that Foer's family was originally from a small town in Galicia, an area of Europe that was sometimes Poland and sometimes Austria and sometimes the Ukraine, depending on what year and who dominated the local geo-political scene at the time. Foer goes back to try and find the one person that saved his father's life.

    In the process, some very bizarre coincidences happen, the kind that only happen in the sadness of the truth of real life. And these horrible things, these haunting memories; are the things that Foer illuminates for the reader. This story is the one that unwinds like a snaky river running through a "Heart Of Darkness."

    And this is only the beginning. Foer uses one of the most unique literary styles in this book I have ever seen. He uses punctuation, cultural difference, ethnic strife, word combinations without punctuation; to make his point even clearer, and even more dramatic. The book is itself a work of art as well as literature.

    I cannot think of a reader that would not benefit from reading this book. Its impact cannot be underestimated. And it shall stand as one of the great creations of literature in the 21st Century.
    14 people found this helpful
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  • Bri Bri❤️
    4.0 out of 5 stars Recalling past pain
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This book had full of unexpected turns and tragic endings, all centered on a young guy boy named Jonathan who traveled to Ukraine to find Augustine—the woman who saved his grandfather during the Nazi occupation of Trachimbrod.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Jeff Talbott
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Debut - Illuminating To Say The Least
    Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2002
    Verified Purchase
    I want to pick at this book, to poke at holes and make fun, but I simply can't. This riveting, hilarious, deeply disturbing and sad book is not like anything I've ever read. I don't know higher praise. Yes, it is precocious and agile like A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF SHATTERING GENIUS; the self-referential style is also reminiscent of David Foster Wallace (although without the footnotes). But it is something all of its own, and although reviews may try to describe it, the only way to capture what is great about it is to read it. You can believe the reviews that say it tells two stories, intertwined, and that that they eventually converge in surprising ways. But that doesn't begin to scratch the surface of the achievement here, and I can't adequately encourage the serious reader to dive into every dense paragraph and find all the delights that are there. This is not an easy read, but it is so rewarding, both in its comic highs and tragic lows, that to miss it is to miss out. I just closed it, and couldn't wait to let anybody who might care know that they should rush to it; it is worth the rush.
    24 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Tedo
    3.0 out of 5 stars Obtuse and flawed
    Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This book has some powerful images and occasionally powerful writing, but it is gratuitously difficult and obtuse. The different story lines, characters and locations (shetls) bear unclear and confusing relations to each other. The humor deployed against the Ukrainian characters is juvenile. One of the few redeeming qualities of the book is the rehabilitation of the Ukrainian characters over the course of the book into human beings, as opposed to the two-dimensional buffoons they start out as. The author also, despite his own father being from the real shtetl on which the fictional Trachimbrod is based, apparently does not know, or considers unimportant, the actual sequence of historical control (Polish, Soviet, Nazi) over the region (Eastern Galicia) between 1939 and 1942, when main story of the novel ends. My own family background is similar to the author's - my grandparents were Jews from Eastern Galicia, much of their families were wiped out in the Holocaust, and I have visited the area and my grandmother's shtetl in 1995 and 2003, with Ukrainian guides. Nobody should get the idea that the book is an accurate representation of the place, either in the last 30 years, nor exactly even during the war. Where are the Ukrainian militias? Jews living on after June 1941, until March 1942, as if the Nazis were nowhere to be seen, and the Poles were still fighting them? It had been under Soviet occupation since 1939, the Nazi occupation was immediate - accomplished in days - in June 1941 - and from that point until the last executions in 1943, it was only occupation, labor, transports and death. The author is entitled to write a book that uses fantasy and surrealism to tell a story that is brutally hard to tell directly, but getting the basic history wrong on a subject as sensitive as this does a service to no one.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Alan L. Chase
    5.0 out of 5 stars Foer Makes a Stunning Debut
    Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    Mini-Review of "Everything Is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer

    As I mentioned last month, my friend, Andy Peix, turned me on to the idiosyncratic writing style of Jonathan Safran Foer. Having been moved by "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," I knew I had to dig deep and read his first novel, "Everything is Illuminated."

    Foer has a gift for taking huge tragedies - 9/11 or the Holocaust - and distilling the horror of their aftermath into very personal journey taken by unforgettable characters. In this case, the protagonist - a fictional Jonathan Safran Foer - sets out on a journey to find a gentile woman who may have saved his grandfather form the Nazis. The fractured English of Alex, the young Ukrainian translator, highlights the absurdity of many of the situations that Alex and Jonathan find themselves in - accompanies by the ever-drooling and randy canine with the greatest name in all of literature: "Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior"!

    The writing is brilliant; the characters are memorable; the story is moving. Read it.

    Enjoy.

    Al
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
    Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2024
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    This superb book is outstanding, combining wit and intellectual depth. Truly exceptional
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Charles Monteiro
    5.0 out of 5 stars Memória e globalização
    Reviewed in Brazil on January 14, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    O livro aborda a memória da Shoa e a marcas do trauma na vida da novas gerações atarvés da história de um jovem escritor em busace de suas origens. Narrativa contada em diferentes pontos de vista, que tematiza as diferenças culturais, com humor irônico e profunda densidade existencial.
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  • Shatakshi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking
    Reviewed in India on March 2, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This books is equal proportions of humour and heartbreak. Foer's writing style will keep you hooked; make you laugh like a child and also break your heart into a million little pieces with just one blow.
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  • Marie Macri
    5.0 out of 5 stars JSF is a genius
    Reviewed in France on August 11, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Ok, so I didn't find this as good as Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but it does deserve five stars. Basically, I am guessing that anything the author writes is pure genius. Perhaps not his grocery lists or texts to his mom, but still. Highly recommend in terms of plot, character development, and dialogue. The translator character's bastardizion of the English language is pure gold. Read this and you will want to read more of his work, and then you will be sad when you realize that he hasn't written a gazillion books.
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  • Amazon Kunde
    5.0 out of 5 stars emotional rollercoaster
    Reviewed in Germany on April 14, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I had to read this book for a college class on "The Family" and it is the best novel I read for class, period. It is very touching and incredibly sad but at other times makes you laugh. There is also an audiobook available I can only highly recommend.
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  • Elisabeth
    5.0 out of 5 stars New discovery for the people who love good storytelling.
    Reviewed in Australia on March 21, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Like the new storytelling stile and the way of describing different and difficult relationships beetween people.
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