Everything Is Illuminated
A young man arrives in the Ukraine, clutching in his hand a tattered photograph. He is searching for the woman who fifty years ago saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Unfortunately, however, he is aided in his quest by Alex, a translator with an uncanny ability to mangle English into new forms; a 'blind' old man haunted by memories of the war; and an undersexed guide dog named Sammy Davis, Jr, Jr. What they are looking for seems elusive - a truth hidden behind veils of time, language and the horrors of war. What they find turns all their worlds upside down..
Stats for nerds
2recommend
4mentions
4people
2010–2018years
50% recommend50% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I'd say it's a tie between 2 books by Jonathan Safran Foer:
"Everything is Illuminated" and "Extremely Loud, Incredibly Close".
- If you liked "Atlas Shrugged", you will love "East of Eden" by George Steinbeck. It has some passages on self-determination that puts anything found in Rand to shame. It's a tome, and it starts slow - do yourself a favor and make it through the introduction of one of the villains, Kathy (chapter 8 or so). It doesn't slow down after that.
"The Watchmen" by Alan Moore. It may be a graphic novel, but the issues it raises on ethics and morality are chilling. I still think about the ending every now and then, and I haven't read it in over a year.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. In addition to the primary themes on class, race, and the killing of innocents, it has an interesting thread on living with your own moral code.
"Catch 22" by Joseph Heller. Ostensibly a satire of the military, this is a good self-reflection on the American soul (circa 1961).
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!". The life of a Nobel winning physicist and renowned professor doesn't have to be boring.
"Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer. The premise is too complicated to describe here, but it really delves into the cruelty and self-protectionism of the human heart. Plus, its hysterical!
"Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Describes the horror of war and the effect it has on the rest of your life.
"Chronicle of a Death Foretold" by Gabriel Garcia Marques. Tells the story of a murder that everyone in town knew would happen, but nobody tried to stop.
- this recalls to my mind J.S. Foer's 'Everything is Illuminated,' which deals with Ukrainian-Jewish issues in general and identity in particular. Was also made into an outstanding and hilarious movie by L. Schrieber
- For techie non-fiction stuff, I liked both of Kevin Mitnick's books, probably The Art of Intrusion more. They feature (probably slightly fictionalized) stories of creative thinkers who exploited systems, for evil or otherwise. it was very interesting to see how these creative people used their intelligence constructively (or destructively, I suppose).
on a completely non-tech book note, I'm currently reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (author of Everything Is Illuminated) and I'm absolutely loving it! it's beautifully written, filled with humor and tragedy all at once.
just my two cents
Related
East of Eden
60 recommend · 110
Illuminations
2 recommend · 2
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
3 recommend · 4
Blindsight
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The Dawn of Everything
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Luminous
12 recommend · 20
All the Light We Cannot See
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