linbronkhorst's review against another edition
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.
katebirdie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
vaskorn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
4.25/5
3 words to describe this book: raw, eccentric, challenging
Here I Am is about a Jewish-American family with different generational crises. It’s about finding identity - and that’s about all I want to say :) you’ll either love it or hate it.
I would highly recommend the audiobook over a print copy (also does Irv sound like Larry David to anyone else??)
kmhawley's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
callummac's review against another edition
5.0
“While we pursue happiness, we flee from contentment”.
It’s still too early to decide, but I think this may have been Foer’s greatest. It received heavy criticism, and I can see why; there’s not many people I would recommend this book to. It’s painfully mature compared to his previous works, and it’s depressingly obvious that after growing up, Foer has said goodbye to the playfulness that underscored Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud.
Here I Am is an epic, an ambitious story that explores the floundering marriage of Jacob and Julia Bloch, while also delving into the lives of their three children, Sam, Max, and Benjy. Alongside all of this is the destruction of Israel, after being struck by natural disaster. There’s a lot going on in this book, and Foer is (somewhat autobiographically) considering the multitude of meanings behind family, fatherhood, and loyalty to a form of love that is essentially greater than all of us. For Jacob, who remains at the centre of the story, this exists in his undying devotion to his children, and his long-dead devotion to God. Jacob is seeking something more, and that ‘more’ finds itself in the title of this book: the self-assurance with which Abraham declares ‘Here I Am’.
5 / 5, and I can’t wait to read this book again.
It’s still too early to decide, but I think this may have been Foer’s greatest. It received heavy criticism, and I can see why; there’s not many people I would recommend this book to. It’s painfully mature compared to his previous works, and it’s depressingly obvious that after growing up, Foer has said goodbye to the playfulness that underscored Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud.
Here I Am is an epic, an ambitious story that explores the floundering marriage of Jacob and Julia Bloch, while also delving into the lives of their three children, Sam, Max, and Benjy. Alongside all of this is the destruction of Israel, after being struck by natural disaster. There’s a lot going on in this book, and Foer is (somewhat autobiographically) considering the multitude of meanings behind family, fatherhood, and loyalty to a form of love that is essentially greater than all of us. For Jacob, who remains at the centre of the story, this exists in his undying devotion to his children, and his long-dead devotion to God. Jacob is seeking something more, and that ‘more’ finds itself in the title of this book: the self-assurance with which Abraham declares ‘Here I Am’.
5 / 5, and I can’t wait to read this book again.