Reviews

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

crw1303's review

challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

olivehead's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

verilysarah's review against another edition

2.0

I liked the narration from Alex but the other sections were not so entertaining 

nc0l's review

funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

raita's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

biolexicon's review

4.0

Alexander is incredibly loveable.

ashlynnoel's review

dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual content, and War

Moderate: Suicide

jj_reads_half_a_book_and_stops's review against another edition

3.75

so weird
beautiful parts

laurasauras's review

5.0

23/05/2023 Still one of my favourite books, if not taking out the top spot. I just can't get over the beauty of an author so in love with stories, in love with his first book, who writes of a family cursed to never feel love the way they feel they should, who then writes the book loving him back. Because it does, Alex does; it's a love story where one is confined to the pages and the other only expresses himself through telling stories about other people.

So many beautiful quotes in this. It made me laugh and cry as it did the first time and I treasure that it made me feel so very strongly. It's a masterclass in the power of word choice in conveying sincerity.

28/08/2020 This may be the best book I've ever read. Definitely top ten. It's such a beautiful story, one that manages to be about so many things and nothing more than love. I'll be thinking about it for a very long time.

jess_mango's review

4.0

"Everything is Illuminated" is an inventive debut novel with a blend of tragicomedy and magical-realism. The primary character in the book is a young Jewish-American man who goes to the Ukraine in search of a piece of his family's history. The novel jumps around between different narratives. I enjoyed some parts of the book a lot more than others, but overall it was an entertaining read.