Everything is Illuminated
Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2002 Novel Succeeds as a Movie
In his 2003 book Everything Is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer attempts the difficult task of combining four storylines, three eras, and two narrators into one cohesive plot. His attempts are effective, as they coalesce into a novel well worth reading— a feat especially remarkable in an author’s first novel.
The Main Characters
The main narrator, Alex, explains to readers that he is working as a guide and translator for a young man named Jonathan, who is visiting the Ukraine to learn about his family’s past and to meet the woman who saved his grandfather from Nazis. Alex’s voice is very distinctive, as it is written in lyrical, broken English.
Chapters and letters narrated by Alex alternate with pieces told from Jonathan’s point of view; most of these chapters tell the stories of his very-great-grandmother and of his grandfather. His voice is fluid and descriptive, with a feel of straight storytelling.
The book will surely captivate readers, in part because the pacing is quick— it has to be, as there are multiple tales playing out at all times. Each of the well-described, visceral stories appeals to readers’ humanity. For instance, Alex says this of his hopes for his younger brother: “I do not want him to feel violence anymore, but also I do not want him to one day make others feel violence.” Such lines are potent; they draw the humanity off the page and appeal to readers’ sense of common humanity.
A Difficult but Worthwile Read
There is humor littered throughout the pages, despite the fact that the novel, at times, deals with very difficult concepts. Much of the humor comes from Alex’s misunderstandings of Jonathan or vice versa. Other parts of the book, though, feel eerie, as though overcome with a sense of foreboding. Part of this is because the logical reader is waiting for the conclusion of Jonathan’s search, and Jonathan himself feels anxious and pressed for time.
Parts of the book— especially the parts that feel most deeply human— are difficult to read. They evoke a certain discomfort in readers, but it is a worthwhile discomfort. Passages that describe the Nazi invasion of Jonathan’s grandfather’s village are particularly painful but are also a part of human history that is worthy of attention.
Liev Shreiber's Movie Adaptation
Liev Shreiber’s movie incarnation of Everything is Illuminated— though not precisely equal to the book— is also worth noting. It shares with the novel a lot of humor and the humanity, along with a sense of confusion about mixing cultures and languages— a confusion eloquently communicated by Elijah Wood, who plays Jonathan.
Certain things make the book better than the movie, however. Much of the movie’s humor comes from a played-up clash of cultures— but the movie does not resolve the issue as well as the book does. The book realistically deals with ignorance and misunderstanding, and it better communicates the fluidity of relationships and the eventual willingness to accept another person’s differences.
The book provides much more back-story and enlightens the audience about each character’s relationships and emotions. The book, for instance, allows readers to understand Alex’s hatred towards his father, going past the obvious physical violence present in the movie. The book also contains much more detail about Jonathan’s ancestors, and it can be argued that such passages are among the most enjoyable parts of the book.
The novel goes more in-depth with characterizing everyone emotionally, and the movie is more visually affecting. Both are worthwhile in their own right.
Foer, Jonathan Safran. Everything is Illuminated. Harper Perennial, 2005. 276 pages. ISBN 0-06-079217-5
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