Everything is Illuminated is an ironic title for this book – it should rather be Everything isn’t exactly illuminated but what the hell! So I’ve finished reading this novel by Jonathan Safran Foer (no not the John Safran fame) and finished the book in tatters..literally. Call it postmodernism writing or post-postmodernism you can argue, but I really can’t be bothered going into details about what it is.

So this novel is not a straight forward beginning-middle-end sequence, rather it is loosely tied in that structure. Apart from the messy but ordered structure, I really enjoyed this novel, and was quite sympathetic towards the characters. There is at least 3 parallel storylines running one after the other to provide a past and present time shift phase that structures the novel. Its very funny and witty with a lot of black humour thrown in. Just don’t expect it to be a traditional novel otherwise it will leave you unsettled.

The story is basically a road trip novel to find a specific person. There are underlying storylines about the protagonist’s past bloodline and the letters that he receives from his travelling guide, with occurrences of war during the Nazi regime is both moving and hilarious. Elements of fantasy are thrown in for good measure and place the war themes in a rather light tone. Although it may sound a bit all over the place, it all fits into one overall storyline.

Recommended if you’re tired of reading the same traditional novel and want a novel to spark some magic and faith back into what talented writers can achieve!

Everything is Illuminated has won several awards and critical acclaim and has been made into a film staring Elijah Wood. I am yet to see the film as the fragmented storylines piques my interest to see how they would have represented and interpreted the novel onto the screen.