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sctittle's review against another edition
4.0
Jacob Bloch can't even go to IKEA without having an existential crisis. He is the protagonist of this novel, and is grappling with a host of family-related traumas. His marriage is dissolving. He and his wife are planning a Bar Mitzvah for his oldest son, Sam--against Sam's wishes. Sam is becoming increasingly caught up in an alternate reality website. Jacob's grandfather, Isaac, a Holocaust survivor and the lynchpin keeping the Bar Mitzvah afloat--doesn't want to be moved to a retirement community. And Argus, the family dog, is becoming increasingly incontinent and should probably be euthanized. There are a lot of other things going on, and as Mr. Foer leads the reader through the tortuous days leading up to and after Sam's Bar Mitzvah, life seems to be exploding all around Jacob. The details of these explosions--an illicit cell phone's texts, a devastating earthquake, an HBO mini-series in the making, a model UN field trip--are limned with Foer's characteristic wit and agility. There are laugh-out-loud scenes that could easily fly on the screen (I bring this up only because both Foer and his protagonist were/are working on the script of an HBO series that never got/gets made). There is also a pretty ballsy projection about how Israel might defend itself in the wake of a Middle East-wide natural disaster. But there's also a lot of soul searching--and sometimes that turns into navel-gazing. From what little I know of Mr. Foer, I believe he, like Jacob, is his own worst critic. And the oy vey moments can become a little tiresome. Yet the heart of this novel is the story of a man who learns to face the consequences, and enjoy the rewards, of the life choices he has made. In the end, Jacob is a better father, son, husband, and man. It just takes a long time--and a lot of "first world" problem solving. At times I loved this, at other times I grew very impatient with Foer's seeming weakness for wisecracking and schticks. But then you get a sentence like this: "Between any two beings there is a unique, uncrossable distance, an unenterable sanctuary. Sometimes it takes the shape of aloneness. Sometimes it takes the shape of love." And all is forgiven.
kristianawithak's review against another edition
5.0
This was wonderful, heartbreaking and nearly perfect. The dialogue reminded me of White Noise, the perfect cadence that makes a conversation into a song with a familiar beat. The boys, Benji, max and Sam, were so endearing they stole every scene they were in.
It was enjoyable despite the heartbreak or because of it.
It was enjoyable despite the heartbreak or because of it.
kmartini3's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Well written, clever and thought provoking. A few scenes that were unexpectedly graphic and may catch a reader off guard. Conclusion aligned more with an acceptance than a resolution, which perhaps spoke to the question of life.
kaz9's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe I should have given this more than the 100-page chance, but I'm not a huge fan of books that make a point of explaining and verbally dissecting every emotion in a character's head. I find myself wishing that more was left to the imagination or was suggested using dialogue or setting. Even though Safran Foer's descriptions are often beautifully apt and imaginative, they leave me with too much of the sound of his voice and not enough of the characters' voices.
buttercupita's review against another edition
2.0
Two and a half stars. This book is a mess. Some pieces of it are absolutely brilliant and thought provoking, and that's what makes it worth continuing through. Others seem to serve no purpose and get completely dropped mid way through. I just kept wondering what Nicole Krauss, Safran Foer's ex wife and incredible novelist in her own right, thought about this depiction of a family falling apart.
abbyprinceatwood's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Foer creates these honest and flawed characters and tells their stories so well. He goes a little off the rails here with LOTS of characters and LOTS of dialogue. A great editor could have tightened this up.
ellenhawkins's review against another edition
4.0
This book is difficult. On the one hand it has some of the most beautiful writing I've read in a long, long time. On the other hand I found myself reluctant to crack it open each night because I didn't like any of the characters, didn't particularly enjoy the plot and kept wondering why this is labeled as a humorous or "hilariously irreverent" book. In no way is it ever funny, but it is heartbreaking. I will admit, I was in tears by the end so at some point I must have grown attached (or maybe it was just relief).
I was drawn to this book because of the endless pimping it was getting on NPR right before the election. The theme of being simultaneously conscious of large, real world problems and your own insignificant-by-comparison problems really resonated with me at the time. On that note, the book delivered. There are some really beautiful passages about being a parent, about marriage and relationships and also about pondering the larger questions in life (I started keeping a highlighter with me while I read, the writing's that good). This is all overshadowed by a plot that doesn't really go anywhere and characters that think about doing things, but then don't actually do them.
Over all, it's five star writing with a three star plot. So four stars for me.
I was drawn to this book because of the endless pimping it was getting on NPR right before the election. The theme of being simultaneously conscious of large, real world problems and your own insignificant-by-comparison problems really resonated with me at the time. On that note, the book delivered. There are some really beautiful passages about being a parent, about marriage and relationships and also about pondering the larger questions in life (I started keeping a highlighter with me while I read, the writing's that good). This is all overshadowed by a plot that doesn't really go anywhere and characters that think about doing things, but then don't actually do them.
Over all, it's five star writing with a three star plot. So four stars for me.
teampolly's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
patiolinguist's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I was halfway through the book before feeling remotely invested in the story, and it took me several weeks just to finish the last 80 or so pages. A lot of the time I felt that the author was trying way too hard. Even so, I appreciated some of the witty dialogues and the glimpse into a dysfunctional American Jewish family, so the book wasn't a complete waste of time.