Jennifer P. (jenners) reviewed on + 121 more book reviews
I don't really know how to start telling you about this book! It is far from a straightforward narrative so it is probably best to start by describing the three primary story arcs:
* The narration by Ukrainian translator Alexander Perchov. Alex is a young man who has a troubled home life but is hired to guide a young writer named Jonathan Safran Foer on a quest to find the woman who may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanying Alex and Jonathan is Alex's grandfather (also named Alex ... so as to make things as confusing as possible!) who is haunted by his own memories of the war and Sammy Davis, Junior, Juniora flatulent dog who has amorous feelings to Jonathan.
* Excerpts from the novel that Jonathan Safran Foer is writing about his family's history in the Ukrainian shetl (village) of Trachimbrod. The "novel" ranges from 1791 to 1971 and is told in a magical realism style that defies coherent description. Ranging from broadly comical to fanciful to what can only be called "experimental" (there are flowcharts! fragments of dreams written by villagers! two pages of dots with fragmented words mixed in! a snippet of a play!), these parts of the book can be delightful, irritating, confusing and profoundsometimes all on the same page.
* Letters written by Alex to Jonathan commenting on the novel that Jonathan is writing and Alex's own narrations. In these letters, Alex offers critiques of Jonathan's novel, commentary on the changes that Jonathan suggested for Alex's narration, and increasingly revealing information about Alex's home life. I believe the term for this type of fiction is called metafiction and, let me tell you, it messes with your mind.
Somewhere in all of this is a story about family, friendship, the meaning of love, Nazis, the Holocaust, betrayal, mental illness, the power of the past, what is means to be Jewish, and the nature of truthbut you have to work hard to get it. I was often unsure about what was happening or happened or might have happened. This book is not for the faint-hearted. You're going to have to keep your wits about you while you read. "But is it worth it," you ask. And my answer is....I don't know.
I was very conflicted while reading this book. At times, I was literally laughing out loud at some of Alex's broken English. (You have to be a master of the English language before you can butcher it this amazingly and creatively and artfully.) At other times, I was fighting off a headache from trying to figure out what was happening. I tend to be somewhat of a lazy reader, and this book pushed me to my limits. Honestly, if it weren't for the parts narrated by Alex and Alex's letters to Jonathan, I don't know that I would have made it through the entire book. These parts were an respite for mean oasis amid the craziness of the "Jonathan's novel" sections.
In the end, though, I'm glad I read this book. It felt like an accomplishment of some sort. This book is very highly regarded and considered a modern classic, which is why I gave it a go in the first place. Foer was only in his early 20s when he wrote this, and I find that impressive. Yet, at the same time, I wonder if his precociousness was detrimental. There were many many times I felt like Foer was showing off: "Hey, look what I can do, Reader! Can you do this? Have you seen this before? I bet you haven't! Can you believe I'm only in my early 20s?" Yet, the more magnanimous part of me says "Congrats to you, Jonathan, for pulling off such a high-wire act. You've got talent, and I'm curious to see what you'll do next."
So, I'm giving this my "special" rating for books that I have mixed feelings about: 3.5 stars. This rating is reserved for books I think are worth reading and have flashes of brilliance but something about them kept me from falling love or being able to give a wholehearted recommendation.
* The narration by Ukrainian translator Alexander Perchov. Alex is a young man who has a troubled home life but is hired to guide a young writer named Jonathan Safran Foer on a quest to find the woman who may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanying Alex and Jonathan is Alex's grandfather (also named Alex ... so as to make things as confusing as possible!) who is haunted by his own memories of the war and Sammy Davis, Junior, Juniora flatulent dog who has amorous feelings to Jonathan.
* Excerpts from the novel that Jonathan Safran Foer is writing about his family's history in the Ukrainian shetl (village) of Trachimbrod. The "novel" ranges from 1791 to 1971 and is told in a magical realism style that defies coherent description. Ranging from broadly comical to fanciful to what can only be called "experimental" (there are flowcharts! fragments of dreams written by villagers! two pages of dots with fragmented words mixed in! a snippet of a play!), these parts of the book can be delightful, irritating, confusing and profoundsometimes all on the same page.
* Letters written by Alex to Jonathan commenting on the novel that Jonathan is writing and Alex's own narrations. In these letters, Alex offers critiques of Jonathan's novel, commentary on the changes that Jonathan suggested for Alex's narration, and increasingly revealing information about Alex's home life. I believe the term for this type of fiction is called metafiction and, let me tell you, it messes with your mind.
Somewhere in all of this is a story about family, friendship, the meaning of love, Nazis, the Holocaust, betrayal, mental illness, the power of the past, what is means to be Jewish, and the nature of truthbut you have to work hard to get it. I was often unsure about what was happening or happened or might have happened. This book is not for the faint-hearted. You're going to have to keep your wits about you while you read. "But is it worth it," you ask. And my answer is....I don't know.
I was very conflicted while reading this book. At times, I was literally laughing out loud at some of Alex's broken English. (You have to be a master of the English language before you can butcher it this amazingly and creatively and artfully.) At other times, I was fighting off a headache from trying to figure out what was happening. I tend to be somewhat of a lazy reader, and this book pushed me to my limits. Honestly, if it weren't for the parts narrated by Alex and Alex's letters to Jonathan, I don't know that I would have made it through the entire book. These parts were an respite for mean oasis amid the craziness of the "Jonathan's novel" sections.
In the end, though, I'm glad I read this book. It felt like an accomplishment of some sort. This book is very highly regarded and considered a modern classic, which is why I gave it a go in the first place. Foer was only in his early 20s when he wrote this, and I find that impressive. Yet, at the same time, I wonder if his precociousness was detrimental. There were many many times I felt like Foer was showing off: "Hey, look what I can do, Reader! Can you do this? Have you seen this before? I bet you haven't! Can you believe I'm only in my early 20s?" Yet, the more magnanimous part of me says "Congrats to you, Jonathan, for pulling off such a high-wire act. You've got talent, and I'm curious to see what you'll do next."
So, I'm giving this my "special" rating for books that I have mixed feelings about: 3.5 stars. This rating is reserved for books I think are worth reading and have flashes of brilliance but something about them kept me from falling love or being able to give a wholehearted recommendation.
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