Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. My god, what a piercingly beautiful novel… I wholeheartedly wish that you would read this book if you haven’t already, and that you would share your impressions if you have…
I haven’t read it, but for those who were (at some point) going to read One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Garcia Marquez, perhaps you should follow the above advice and read Everything is Illuminated instead. Because 100 Years isn’t worth it.
I haven’t read Everything is Illuminated yet, but I read one of Jonathan Safran Foer’s short stories in the New Yorker magazine a few months ago and was quite moved.
I don’t remember the title of the short story but the style was unique: He used punctuation marks to express unsaid, underlying feelings. It was a very moving story and would be worth a trip to the library to find a back issue of the New Yorker to read it. Reading it will explain some of the blurbs on Everything is Illuminated’s jacket cover.
I was so intrigued by the short story that I googled him and read his bio. What an amazing young man!
Thanks for reminding me about him. I will pick up Everything is Illuminated on my next trip to the bookstore and share my views once I’ve read it.