Foer uses this idea but makes it even more comical, having Alex use odd phrasing such as "KGB on him" (spy) or "tardy at night / tardy at day" (late). The story is actually narrated by Ukrainian translator Alex.Īlex speaks English in a very unique way - it's a nod to when one learns a foreign language and ends up speaking it in an overly perfect, almost robotic way. Even though the character Jonathan is one of the key characters, we only learn his story secondhand. The character just happens to be named JFS. Who doesn't like a little semi-meta flavoring, right? -) Foer doesn't even say if this is inspired by anything in his own family's story. One thing that might throw readers is the fact that author Jonathan Safran Foer names one of the main characters Jonathan Safran Foer, but this is a novel, not an autobio. I know I loved it but I also know I wasn't always entirely clear on what exactly was going on.
This is one of those novels that I think I may have to read a number of times to really get everything.
Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior and the unforgettable Alex, a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan is led on a quixotic journey over a devastated landscape and into an unexpected past. It's perfect.With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man - also named Jonathan Safran Foer - sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Everything Is Illuminated is about history, heritage, and the wisdom that can be gained from uncovering the past. The tone of the film, however, shifts when Jonathan and Alex do finally meet the woman they're looking for, and suddenly, this adorable comedy turns into a heart-breaking historical drama about a Jewish village that was annihilated during the Nazi occupation. I'm thinking of packing it all up and moving to the former Soviet state. The Ukrainian countryside has never looked so breath taking.
Alex is a hip-hop-lovin' Ukrainian break-dancer who, along with his grandfather, helps Jonathan find the woman who saved Jonathan's grandfather's life during World War II. While Elijah Wood is charming as ever as Jonathan Safran Foer (the real-life author of the novel Everything Is Illuminated), it's Eugene Hutz (playing Jonathan's Ukrainian tour-guide and translator, Alex) who truly steals this film. Oh, how I've been waiting for this to arrive in Austin. Everything Is Illuminated is sweetly and sublimely funny from the first delicious line of dialogue.
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