Everything Is IlluminatedEverything Is Illuminated
Score Modern
What it's about
Armed with a yellowing photograph, a young man named Jonathan Safran Foer travels to Ukraine to find the woman who may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. His companions are an old man haunted by the war, a dog and Alex, a translator whose English is gloriously mangled.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It's funny and heartbreaking at once.
You'll love it if you liked
The History of Love
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Book ThiefGood to know
Alex's broken English takes a few pages to settle into.
By the numbers
- Readers32 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics30 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller27 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #1276 of the 1,648 modern books we rank
- #2421 of the 3,057 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Epic
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Americanah
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Quick answers
Is Everything Is Illuminated worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It ranks #2,421 of the 3,057 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 61.1 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Everything Is Illuminated about?
Armed with a yellowing photograph, a young man named Jonathan Safran Foer travels to Ukraine to find the woman who may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. His companions are an old man haunted by the war, a dog and Alex, a translator whose English is gloriously mangled.
How long does it take to read Everything Is Illuminated?
About 7 hours (292 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Everything Is Illuminated?
If you liked it, try The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer or The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.