"Everything is Illuminated" Review
August 27, 2005
Title: Everything is Illuminated
Author: Jonathan Safran Foer
The first time I heard of this book was in its mention at the end of the trailer for the movie of the same name. I thought it looked interesting and placed it in the back of my mind. A few days later, I was browsing at a bookstore, when I noticed the book. I decided to check it out.
The book tells multiple stories that are intertwined and strongly tied together. One is of an American who arrives in Ukraine to search for a woman who might have saved his grandfather's life. His only hints are an old photograph and a town name. Upon arriving in Ukraine, he meets his translator, a very sexually-confident young man named Alex, his driver, Alex's grandfather who believes he is blind, and their dog, Sammy Davis Junior Junior. They embark on their journey through Ukraine's countryside, and everything else follows. The other story told is that of the Town the American is looking for. It tells of the town's past, of its people, and of what happened.
These two stories are alternated between and told simultaneously, with a new twist or turn on almost every page. The book contains all human emotions and feelings. Moments everything from comedy to tragedy to love to anger to pure bliss fill this book and enrich its strong storyline. It will evoke such strong feelings that you will feel very fullfilled at the end.
The X Robot gives it: 9/10 X's
