Reviews
"Foer tests his own boundaries of spirituality and sexuality, ambition and sacrifice, originality and influence, revisiting themes and techniques from his earlier books. With this novel, he is stepping up to compete for his place in literary history . . . Foer rises to the rhetorical challenges of this plot, paying full attention to its comic, apocalyptic, psychological, emotional and historic possibilities. It's an exciting, masterful performance and his energy and power of invention never flags. " --Elaine Showalter, Prospect (UK) "[ Here I Am ] is at once painfully honest and genuinely hilarious--and full of emotional surprises that will leave you reeling." -- Elle " Here I Am , an epic of family and identity . . . offers an unflinching, tender appraisal of cultural displacement in an uncertain age." --Rebecca Swirsky, The Economist "Foer's intensely imagined and richly rewarding novel . . . is a teeming saga of members of the [Bloch] family . . . Throughout, his dark wit drops in zingers of dialogue, leavening his melancholy assessments of the loneliness of human relationships and a world riven by ethnic hatred. He poses several thorny moral questions, among them how to have religious faith in the modern world, and what American Jews' responsibilities are toward Israel. That he can provide such a redemptive denouement, at once poignant, inspirational, and compassionate, is the mark of a thrillingly gifted writer" -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) " Here I Am signals the accomplishment of a writer in full control of his extraordinarily creative imagination, who has become comfortable with pushing the conventions of fiction to reveal how ordinary people respond to their fracturing world . . . In Here I Am , the irresistible narrative gymnastics are as energetic and dazzling as ever and are in full service of a big, important novel from a confident, mature writer." --Jeanette Zwart, Shelf Awareness "Foer's . . . polyphonic, and boldly comedic tale of one family's quandaries astutely and forthrightly confronts humankind's capacity for the ludicrous and the profound, cruelty and love." -- Booklist (starred, boxed review) "Richly conceived . . . Rigorous questions within an accessible story; highly recommended." --Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (starred review) "[ Here I Am ] showcases Foer's emotional dexterity even as it takes place across a wider canvas than his previous books . . . This is great stuff, written with the insight of someone who has navigated the crucible of family, who understands how small slights lead to crises, the irreconcilability of love . . . Sharply observed." -- Kirkus Reviews, " Here I Am is one of those books, like Middlemarch, or for that matter Gone Girl, which lays bare the interior of a marriage with such intelligence and deep feeling and pitiless clarity, it's impossible to read it and not re-examine your own family, and your place in it." --Lev Grossman, Time "Foer tests his own boundaries of spirituality and sexuality, ambition and sacrifice, originality and influence, revisiting themes and techniques from his earlier books. With this novel, he is stepping up to compete for his place in literary history . . . Foer rises to the rhetorical challenges of this plot, paying full attention to its comic, apocalyptic, psychological, emotional and historic possibilities. It's an exciting, masterful performance and his energy and power of invention never flags. " --Elaine Showalter, Prospect (UK) " Here I Am validates [Jonathan Safran Foer]'s status as one of our generation's great American novelists . . . the story thrives on Foer's uncanny ability to cunningly fold the perceptual sets of multiple generations into a modern national epic." --Dan Frazier, Nylon "Brilliantly funny, stealthily heart-crushing." -- W Magazine "[ Here I Am ] is at once painfully honest and genuinely hilarious--and full of emotional surprises that will leave you reeling." -- Elle " Dialogue pings, as animated as an Aaron Sorkin script, and is often, very, very funny." --Jonathan Dean, Sunday Times (UK) " Here I Am , an epic of family and identity . . . offers an unflinching, tender appraisal of cultural displacement in an uncertain age." --Rebecca Swirsky, The Economist "Foer's intensely imagined and richly rewarding novel . . . is a teeming saga of members of the [Bloch] family . . . Throughout, his dark wit drops in zingers of dialogue, leavening his melancholy assessments of the loneliness of human relationships and a world riven by ethnic hatred. He poses several thorny moral questions, among them how to have religious faith in the modern world, and what American Jews' responsibilities are toward Israel. That he can provide such a redemptive denouement, at once poignant, inspirational, and compassionate, is the mark of a thrillingly gifted writer" -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) " Here I Am signals the accomplishment of a writer in full control of his extraordinarily creative imagination, who has become comfortable with pushing the conventions of fiction to reveal how ordinary people respond to their fracturing world . . . In Here I Am , the irresistible narrative gymnastics are as energetic and dazzling as ever and are in full service of a big, important novel from a confident, mature writer." --Jeanette Zwart, Shelf Awareness "Foer's . . . polyphonic, and boldly comedic tale of one family's quandaries astutely and forthrightly confronts humankind's capacity for the ludicrous and the profound, cruelty and love." -- Booklist (starred, boxed review) "Richly conceived . . . Rigorous questions within an accessible story; highly recommended." --Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (starred review) "[ Here I Am ] showcases Foer's emotional dexterity even as it takes place across a wider canvas than his previous books . . . This is great stuff, written with the insight of someone who has navigated the crucible of family, who understands how small slights lead to crises, the irreconcilability of love . . . Sharply observed." -- Kirkus Reviews, " Foer's intensely imagined and richly rewarding novel . . . is a teeming saga of members of the [Bloch] family . . . Throughout, his dark wit drops in zingers of dialogue, leavening his melancholy assessments of the loneliness of human relationships and a world riven by ethnic hatred. He poses several thorny moral questions, among them how to have religious faith in the modern world, and what American Jews' responsibilities are toward Israel. That he can provide such a redemptive denouement, at once poignant, inspirational, and compassionate, is the mark of a thrillingly gifted writer" -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Foer's . . . polyphonic, and boldly comedic tale of one family's quandaries astutely and forthrightly confronts humankind's capacity for the ludicrous and the profound, cruelty and love." -- Booklist (starred, boxed review) "[ Here I Am ] showcases Foer's emotional dexterity even as it takes place across a wider canvas than his previous books . . . This is great stuff, written with the insight of someone who has navigated the crucible of family, who understands how small slights lead to crises, the irreconcilability of love . . . Sharply observed." -- Kirkus Reviews, " Here I Am , an epic of family and identity . . . offers an unflinching, tender appraisal of cultural displacement in an uncertain age." --Rebecca Swirsky, The Economist " Foer's intensely imagined and richly rewarding novel . . . is a teeming saga of members of the [Bloch] family . . . Throughout, his dark wit drops in zingers of dialogue, leavening his melancholy assessments of the loneliness of human relationships and a world riven by ethnic hatred. He poses several thorny moral questions, among them how to have religious faith in the modern world, and what American Jews' responsibilities are toward Israel. That he can provide such a redemptive denouement, at once poignant, inspirational, and compassionate, is the mark of a thrillingly gifted writer" -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Foer's . . . polyphonic, and boldly comedic tale of one family's quandaries astutely and forthrightly confronts humankind's capacity for the ludicrous and the profound, cruelty and love." -- Booklist (starred, boxed review) "Richly conceived . . . Rigorous questions within an accessible story; highly recommended." --Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (starred review) "[ Here I Am ] showcases Foer's emotional dexterity even as it takes place across a wider canvas than his previous books . . . This is great stuff, written with the insight of someone who has navigated the crucible of family, who understands how small slights lead to crises, the irreconcilability of love . . . Sharply observed." -- Kirkus Reviews, " Foer's intensely imagined and richly rewarding novel . . . is a teeming saga of members of the [Bloch] family . . . Throughout, his dark wit drops in zingers of dialogue, leavening his melancholy assessments of the loneliness of human relationships and a world riven by ethnic hatred. He poses several thorny moral questions, among them how to have religious faith in the modern world, and what American Jews' responsibilities are toward Israel. That he can provide such a redemptive denouement, at once poignant, inspirational, and compassionate, is the mark of a thrillingly gifted writer" -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Foer's . . . polyphonic, and boldly comedic tale of one family's quandaries astutely and forthrightly confronts humankind's capacity for the ludicrous and the profound, cruelty and love." -- Booklist (starred, boxed review) "Richly conceived . . . Rigorous questions within an accessible story; highly recommended." --Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (starred review) "[ Here I Am ] showcases Foer's emotional dexterity even as it takes place across a wider canvas than his previous books . . . This is great stuff, written with the insight of someone who has navigated the crucible of family, who understands how small slights lead to crises, the irreconcilability of love . . . Sharply observed." -- Kirkus Reviews, Foer can place his reader's hand on the heart of human experience, the transcendent beauty of human connections. Read, you can feel the life beating. - The Philadelphia Inquirer
