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A review by kerrence30
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I struggled to get into this book, needing to go back and re-listen a few times particularly at the beginning. It picked up once the story properly started at about halfway through.
The first half sets up the story in a slightly clunky way, introducing characters from various generations, without any links or understanding of how they are necessary to the story. This has not been an issue as a reader previously with other books with a similar set up. I would say all the characters are flawed, much like real life, which helps with familiarity as a reader, but doesn’t make them any more endearing. The style of conversation of the characters is very quirky and repetitive, which fits with the overall style of the book up until this point, but I’ll admit it gets a bit tiresome after a while.
The second half is mostly about the main storyline and ties in the other generational throwbacks as it goes which helps with understanding and the flow of the story. By the end I really enjoyed this story itself. I’m not sure how faithful or otherwise it is to the goings on in Ukraine at this time, but it feels like a worthwhile story to tell. I'm not sure how the use of specific literary devices could have been tweaked to improve the overall impression of the book.
The first half sets up the story in a slightly clunky way, introducing characters from various generations, without any links or understanding of how they are necessary to the story. This has not been an issue as a reader previously with other books with a similar set up. I would say all the characters are flawed, much like real life, which helps with familiarity as a reader, but doesn’t make them any more endearing. The style of conversation of the characters is very quirky and repetitive, which fits with the overall style of the book up until this point, but I’ll admit it gets a bit tiresome after a while.
The second half is mostly about the main storyline and ties in the other generational throwbacks as it goes which helps with understanding and the flow of the story. By the end I really enjoyed this story itself. I’m not sure how faithful or otherwise it is to the goings on in Ukraine at this time, but it feels like a worthwhile story to tell. I'm not sure how the use of specific literary devices could have been tweaked to improve the overall impression of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Xenophobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Infidelity
Moderate: Vomit and Gun violence
Minor: Rape