Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, 276 pages

  I listened to Kerry Shale read this book on CD, and I'm so happy I did!

  Much of the conversation hinges on challenges of people communicating between cultures and languages with histories that, in earlier times, might have made them hated enemies or beloved fellow countrymen rather than strangers to each other. Hearing Shale read the dialogue made me laugh so much that I listened to the book in entirety twice in a row. My English-only speaking family found ourselves in Ukraine for several months a few years after the setting of this story, and while I could understand how the dialogue may seem contrived to many American readers, it hit the mark with me as surreally hysterical, more than quite possible, and wonderful.
  The book is the story of a young American Jewish man travelling in Ukraine shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in search of his family roots. The main character bears the name of the author. His story meets up with the life story of a young Ukrainian man near the author’s own age who becomes his guide, translator, and the second main character. Their present stories are woven together with a strong dose of a Jewish tall tale that serves as Jonathan's ancestral history and that ultimately impacts the lives of both main characters.

  The writing is fresh, fun, heart-breaking, and thought provoking.

  This is Foer's first published book. Since this one, he has published other work, including Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close that was released as a movie I enjoyed in 2011. I'm ready to get my hands on another of his books.