Everything is Illuminated
Jonathan Safranfoer
A New York Jew goes back to Russia to find out what happened to
his family during the War. It starts off badly,the narrator
sounds like a rap artist, but he is Ukrainian and thinks this is
how Americans speak. The next chapter jumps back to 1791 and is
written in magic realism style. It does however all come
together. It is very funny, also harrowing. Recommended but you
must get past the first couple of chapters.
Bob 4/5/03
I tried this a couple of times but found the language in the
modern part a real barrier (its narrator is a Russian speaking
American-English like a gangsta rapper) and the historical part
was barmy with characters like The Well Regarded Rabbi. I gave
up.
Doreen 14/9/03
This was described much better by Andrew than by its owner! But
having been entranced by the description so that I didn't take
sufficient notes, I can't remember now what it was. Something
like the tale of an American writer (the author of the book)
trying to discover the history and outcome of a Jewish village in
the Ukraine during the Nazi occupation. The tale is told by the
writer and by a young Ukranian who is contracted to be his guide
and translator. This man speaks and writes in a hybrid English
which is both old-fashioned and "hip" (US style). Although the
main substance of the book is bleak this Ukranian character and
his blind father (who drives the car) provide plenty of humour.
Intertwined with the modern story there is the magical history of
the village from the Eighteenth Century onwards. The book takes
some effort to read but it has its rewards.
Andrew 21/12/03
The frames have
gone all funny - click to make it good.