A review by ellenhawkins
Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer

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.