lammeyb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mattp1993's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lulu_readsalot's review against another edition
4.0
it was great and beautifully written, yet i felt like it would never end, like moses leading his people through the desert
linbronkhorst's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
readers_block's review against another edition
1.0
I was so excited for this one: having loved Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I couldn't wait to read this one.
I DNFed at about 200 pages. It was just far too pretentious for me. As far as I could tell, there was no real plot, just the overwrought musings of a dysfunctional family. I wanted to push myself to finish but honestly, I just didn't care what happened.
I DNFed at about 200 pages. It was just far too pretentious for me. As far as I could tell, there was no real plot, just the overwrought musings of a dysfunctional family. I wanted to push myself to finish but honestly, I just didn't care what happened.
schlabber42's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
rachattack's review against another edition
3.0
Oh man. I could say so many things about this book. Everything Is Illuminated is my favorite book of all time, so I was pretty invested in loving Here I Am. I'm also thirsty for books about Jewish-American identity, so I should have loved it - but I didn't. The main thing that threw me off about this book was the sheer number of words - 571 pages of character descriptions and time-hopping. It felt very unfocused, like Foer just put every thought he had down on the page, which I couldn't stand. I kept asking myself why any given scene was put in the book, and I came up empty for probably half of them.
I loved the writing, which is the main thing I've always loved about Foer's books. It's sharp and smart and beautiful. Undeniably, there were sentences that I straight up didn't understand, either because they were just too twisted or because they were SO deep that they would require years of study to make sense of. But there were also sentences that resonated with me distinctly, that left me wondering how anyone could understand the world that clearly and well.
For such a long book, it wasn't hard to get through. The "destruction of Israel" montage was when the book really sped up for me and moved beyond character sketches. That said, I was continuously unable to stand Jacob, which really made it hard to read. He felt like a character created solely for self-hatred.
All-in-all, I would 100% recommend reading this book. It's starkly beautiful and it made me think about faith and life and family in ways I hadn't before. Just be prepared for a long haul.
I loved the writing, which is the main thing I've always loved about Foer's books. It's sharp and smart and beautiful. Undeniably, there were sentences that I straight up didn't understand, either because they were just too twisted or because they were SO deep that they would require years of study to make sense of. But there were also sentences that resonated with me distinctly, that left me wondering how anyone could understand the world that clearly and well.
For such a long book, it wasn't hard to get through. The "destruction of Israel" montage was when the book really sped up for me and moved beyond character sketches. That said, I was continuously unable to stand Jacob, which really made it hard to read. He felt like a character created solely for self-hatred.
All-in-all, I would 100% recommend reading this book. It's starkly beautiful and it made me think about faith and life and family in ways I hadn't before. Just be prepared for a long haul.
manonvanhastenberg's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure what to think of this book. Kind of forced myself to finish it, it did capture me in a way, but it was definitely not the easiest read ever.