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A review by jameshousworth
Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer
4.0
This is going to seem like a weird review, because at first glance, this book has a lot going against it. It's very wordy. It's very long (571 pages). The plot is minimal. The characters are all, most of the time, selfish jerks. And I lost count of all the times the author mentioned masturbation (it's almost impressive how he could consistently work it into scenes in which you never imagined the word would ever show up).
But you know what? I honestly loved this book. I've never read a 500+ page book this quickly (not even you, Harry Potter). JSF just has a way of taking a character that is nothing like you (e.g. aging Zionist holocaust survivor) and making you see that they're actually just like you. But he does it in such a methodical, strange, hilarious way that you don't even realize it until about halfway through the book.
That's what made the book for me - its fascinating, crazy, yet relentlessly relatable characters. Yeah, there's a plot. A troubled Jewish-American family grapples with a whole host of family issues while the Jewish nation grapples with an international crisis. But the real meat of the story is in its characters' relationships to each other, to Judaism, and to themselves.
If you read this review and think you'll hate it, then chances are you probably will. But if you like interesting characters and creative storytelling, then I highly recommend this book!
But you know what? I honestly loved this book. I've never read a 500+ page book this quickly (not even you, Harry Potter). JSF just has a way of taking a character that is nothing like you (e.g. aging Zionist holocaust survivor) and making you see that they're actually just like you. But he does it in such a methodical, strange, hilarious way that you don't even realize it until about halfway through the book.
That's what made the book for me - its fascinating, crazy, yet relentlessly relatable characters. Yeah, there's a plot. A troubled Jewish-American family grapples with a whole host of family issues while the Jewish nation grapples with an international crisis. But the real meat of the story is in its characters' relationships to each other, to Judaism, and to themselves.
If you read this review and think you'll hate it, then chances are you probably will. But if you like interesting characters and creative storytelling, then I highly recommend this book!