After watching the movie, Everything is Illuminated; I knew that I had to read the book to prolong the experience that Jonathan Safran Foer wrote about in his novel. There are several different stories inside this single novel. The main story is set in modern day Ukraine and is recorded as the main character, Alex's own memoir. Another character, named after the author of the novel himself, also is in the midst of writing a story. It is also set in Ukraine but takes place over several generations. Toward the end of the novel Alex's grandfather reveals insight into himself through the story of his youth during World War II.
[...] Jonathan's book is written to depict his family's history using the little facts he has uncovered about the generations preceding him, as well as his own creative imagination, which fill in the missing pieces. Jonathan's novel beings with the story of Brod, his great great-great-great- great grandmother, who as a newborn was the only survivor as her family's carriage plunged into the river of an unnamed village. This accident becomes the backbone of the village, which celebrates the anniversary of that mysterious accident with an annual festival and soon takes the name “Trachimbrod” after the river at the center of everything. [...]
[...] This book is incredibly obscure and brings to the readers' attention seldom considered themes. Alex's comprehension of the English language provides comic relief, as does Jonathan's habit of collecting everything he experiences. It all has a serious side though, as Alex turns out to be very brave and understanding and Jonathan admits to collecting things out of a fear of forgetting and being forgotten. He displays what he collects on a wall in an almost “Norman Rockwell” display to preserve the lives of people in the objects. [...]
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