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 you should read this April 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Jonathan Safran Foer's use of the English language is beautiful. While he has a very different style of writing and it may take a little while to get into it, I don't see what there is not to like. I'm not sure which I liked better- this or his "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," but both are worth the read. A review I could write could not do this work justice. I laughed. I cried... It's a good book.- Lauren
 the rare exception where the film is better than the book December 31, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having seen the film, I anticipated that, as is so often the case, the book would be much better. I was disappointed. There are the tragi-comic moments between Jonathan and Alex, and certainly there are poignant and touching moments as well, particularly when Jonathan reaches Trachimbrod. But, as other reviewers have said, the book has its odd places as well that were distracting and frustrating. Farting dogs, detailed descriptions of sexual conquests, and the corrospondence between Alex and Jonathan were particularly rough going. The discussion of Russian (and Ukrainian) anti-Semitism and the relationship between Alex and his family were spot-on descriptions of my memories of Russia, which was a strength.
In all, I have very stong, very mixed feelings about the book. Foer is a great writer, and does so with wit and an artist's eye for detail. However I could have done without some of the literary devices he used. In the final analysis, I thought the film was superior to the book, which was disappointing.
 The Emperor Has No Clothes December 16, 2007
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
(Possible spoiler ahead) I read this book in a book club a few years ago and absolutely hated it. There is nary a truth to be found in it. Instead you get the pastiche of truth. This is a grossly immature work of fiction. If I recall correctly, toward the end there is a span of pages with barely a word aside from rows of punctuation. Perhaps this is an effort to give the reader a sense of the feeling of illumination. Instead it comes across as a painful sign of having a complete lack of ideas. Not to mention Dave Eggers did the same thing in 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'. But the truth is, a good writer will give you that moment where you look up from the page, totally in awe, and you will revel in the change of your world view. This stuff here is not that stuff.
Wow. This was hard work... September 23, 2007
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
I bought this book because I LOVED the movie. I still prefer the movie over the book...it lost me in the long and, as another reviewer noted, really tedious descriptions of the sexual escapades of some characters. Really ruined the book for me...I was unmoved and turned off by the whole "useless arm' scenario...just didn't get it. A lot of description of the characters in the shetl killed the charm as well. Very unlikable types in many ways. The most enjoyable and moving were those scenes that were also covered in the movie...the search for Trachimbrod, the diaglogue between Jonathan and Alex - quite brilliant. Would have been better as two separate books.
 Kooky and inventive novel of two young men's coming of age. November 25, 2005
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
The eccentric and attention-seeking graphics of the bookjacket convey the idea that this book is fresh, daring, kooky, and inventive--and the book is all these things! But it is also serious and thoughtful, touching on universal themes and the essence of what makes us human. With young "heroes" who are sometimes both earnest and sweetly vulnerable, the book contains moments of profound melancholy, as well as deep sadness, behind its bravado and its finger-snapping brio.
Jonathan Safran Foer, a character bearing the same name as the author, is looking for the woman he believes saved his grandfather Safran from the Nazis. Traveling to the Ukraine, he meets Alex Perchov, a young man representing a Ukrainian travel agency which specializes in taking tourists to the sites of vanished shetls. Alex, a not-quite-fluent translator, and his "blind" grandfather, who serves as the driver, travel with Jonathan to the site of Trachimbrod, his family's village, collecting stories and legends which will help Jonathan learn about his family and his Ukrainian Jewish heritage.
Parts of the book are a bit sophomoric. (How many farting dog jokes does one need? And do we really need to know the details of Grandfather Safran's 132 mistresses?) The fictional Jonathan's letters and comments as he writes a novel about his trip are an artificial device for dealing, perhaps, with the author's uncertainties and/or heading off criticism, while the chapters he includes for Alex's review, are, of course, the actual chapters of this book. And Alex's misuse of language, while often very funny, begins to pall after numerous repetitions.
But these are minor criticisms in view of the author's immense achievement in dynamically presenting two young men as they explore who they are, where they come from, and how they fit in the world. As the sought-after story of each boy's grandfather emerges, the depth and breadth of family relationships and cultural history become clearer to character and reader alike. The dramatic and moving conclusion clearly establishes Foer's credentials as a brilliant new talent. Mary Whipple
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