Kristy+Brimacombe


 * AUTHOR: ** Jonathan Safran Foer


 * TITLE: ** Everything is Illuminated


 * PUBLICATION DATE: ** 2002


 * NUMBER OF PAGES: ** 382


 * GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING: ** Ukraine


 * TIME PERIOD: ** 18th Century - Present


 * PLOT SUMMARY: ** Jonathan, a young American Jew, travels to Ukraine to search for the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazi invasions. He is guided by his Ukrainian translator, Alex, Alex’s grandfather and the grandfather’s “deranged” guide dog. The present day narrative is interspersed with a fictional tale in-progress written by Jonathan about his great-great-great-great-great grandmother’s shetl, called Trachimbrod. Life in the shetl has an almost magical quality for the quirky residents who are at times both ridiculous and endearing. A humourous and insightful novel.


 * SUBJECT HEADINGS: ** fiction, Jewish, family, travels


 * SIMILAR AUTHORS: ** Nicole Krauss, Dave Eggers, Kurt Vonnegut


 * APPEAL: ** humour, overcoming cultural differences, tracing family history, absurd situations


 * AUTHOR: ** Thomas King


 * TITLE: ** The Truth About Stories


 * BRIEF SUMMARY: ** With humour and compassion, King describes the different ways stories impact our lives and the ways in which stories can help people from different cultures to understand each other.