"Here I Am"

I am listening to "Here I Am" by Jonathan Safran Foer in my car as I go back and forth to work.  It's an amazing story of Jewish families, Israel, divorce, generations of bickering and of love, growing up, growing old, staying the same.  I am loving it because it's funny and it's sad at the same time, I laugh out loud and three minutes later there are tears in my eyes.  Great one-liners, great commentary on life in general, not just Jewish life, although there's a lot of that as well. I sometimes avoid books with a Jewish slant, I don't know why, but this is so rich and vivid and real. The characters, Jacob and Julia and their three sons and a grandfather and great grandfather and some others, are in turmoil all the time, much like all of us. They have no idea how to navigate down the dark and dangerous rivers of real life, much like all of us. They fuck up, they try to do better, they sometimes believe in a god of sorts, sometimes they don't believe in anything. Often they know nothing, they believe nothing and they either admit it or they deny it. Much like all of us.

I am not sure I would like this book as much if I was reading it.  Sometimes the voice that narrates (i.e. reads) the story makes it so much better.  (And sometimes the voice makes you turn the car around and take that book on CDs right back to the library.) The voice is Jewish (and I mean that in the best possible way) and he knows how to phrase the phrases perfectly, when to give weight and when to make it light. It's a great  book to listen to, but since  many of you who read this blog (well, many is too hopeful) don't drive great distances, you probably will never listen to this book. Too bad. It's a joy.

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