jonathan safran foer + friday flickr faves

just finished everything is illuminated by jonathan safran foer. this kid (and i say kid because he is younger than me, born in 77 {and he's already written two fantastic novels!}) is a terrific and imaginative and funny writer. wise way beyond his years. or maybe possessed. he's one of those writers whose characters are so alive that you think maybe the author was channeling spirits or something. anyhow, this book left me with a lot of questions, and yet still it had a satisfying (if terribly sad) ending. so much to think about and feel about. questions about love, friendship, memory, sadness/happiness, storytelling/truth.

i think it is an important book to read for a number of reasons, but especially now for americans, living in a country that is at war. a country that seems to me to be creating more war.

one passage i like:
She had been to Kiev, he learned, and Odessa, and even Warsaw. She had lived among the Wisps of Ardisht for a year when her mother became deathly ill. She told him of ship voyages she had taken to places he had never heard of, and stories he knew were all untrue, were bad not-truths, even, but he nodded and tried to convince himself to be convinced, tried to believe her, because he knew that the origin of a story is always an absence, and he wanted her to live among presences.

it is also a book that one can read over and over again and make new discoveries, connections. most highly recommended!!!!

flickr favorites:
speaking of books, i've read all these
jumptwothree
romantic

have a good weekend!