Everything Is Illuminated
| Everything Is Illuminated | |
|---|---|
 Front cover of hardcover edition. |
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| Author | Jonathan Safran Foer |
| Cover artist | Jon Gray (aka gray318) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Publication date | April 16, 2002 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 288 pp (hardcover) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-618-17387-0 (hardcover) ISBN 0-06-052970-9 (paperback) |
| OCLC Number | 48144414 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.6 21 |
| LC Classification | PS3606.O38 E84 2002 |
| Followed by | Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005) |
Everything Is Illuminated is the first novel by the American writer Jonathan Safran Foer, published in 2002. It was adapted into a film by the same name starring Elijah Wood in 2005.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
A young American Jew, also named Jonathan Safran Foer, journeys to Ukraine in search of Augustine, the woman who saved his grandfather's life during the Nazi liquidation of Trachimbrod, his family shtetl. Armed with many copies of an old photograph of Augustine and his grandfather, maps, and cigarettes, Jonathan begins his adventure with Ukrainian native and soon-to-be good friend, Alexander "Alex" Perchov, who is Foer's age and very fond of American pop culture, albeit culture that is already out of date in the United States. Alex has studied English at his university and is "premium" in his knowledge of the language, therefore he becomes the translator. Alex's "blind" grandfather and his "deranged seeing-eye bitch," Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr., accompany them on their journey. These three parts tie together in the end of the story. Throughout the book, the meaning of love is deeply examined.
The writing and structure received critical acclaim for the manner in which it switches between two story arcs: (1) fragments of Foer-the-character's novel-in-progress, where he tells in highly literary English a quasi-magical story about the citizens of Trachimbrod; and (2) a straightforward narrative of searching for Trachimbrod (an invented name for the real village Trochenbrod), as told by Alex in broken English. They are tied together by letters sent from Alex to Foer and attached to Alex's version. Alex's narrative is notable for its broken English, which sounds as if he learned English from a thesaurus without ever hearing it spoken. Throughout his narrative, he makes frequent use of improper synonyms, such as using the word rigid to mean "difficult" or "hard".
[edit] Place names
Names of cities are given in their Russian version (e.g., Lvov), although the Polish or Ukrainian naming would have been correct for the scenes in Trachimbrod and Ukraine.
[edit] Literary significance and criticism
Everything Is Illuminated received overwhelming acclaim on its initial release, not only from major publications, but also from many well-known authors, including John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, Salman Rushdie, Isabel Allende, Russell Banks, and Dale Peck.[citation needed] The Times' review stated that the book was "a work of genius," that Foer had "staked his claim for literary greatness," and that "after it, things will never be the same."[1]
[edit] References
- ^ "Luminous talent in the spotlight". London: The Times. July 7, 2002. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/books_group/article541500.ece. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
