Journal Entry 1 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, September 10, 2003

The reviews for this book look good and I've been itching to buy it for ages - those day-glo colours drew me in! I chose pink text on yellow by the way!

From the back:
With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man - also named Jonathan Safran Foer - sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war; an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior; and the unforgettable Alex, a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan is led on a quixotic journey over a devastated landscape and into an unexpected past.

And from the inside:
Awards and Accolades:
Best-of-the-Year and Notable lists in the New York Times, Esquire, GQ, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Boston Globe, LA Times, Newsweek, USA Today, Book magazine, Booklist and Publisher's Weekly.
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction.
Winner of The Guardian First Book Award (UK).

I won't get round to reading this for a while and as there is seemingly no bookring for it yet, thought a few of you might be interested.

Bookring participants (in approximate order). I was originally going to limit this to 10 people, but then I realised I didn't like closing a bookring! So it's staying open now...

Update Dec 4th, 2003: Please note I have made several changes to this list - if there are any problems please let me know. The primary reason is to make sure it can get back to me once I'm back in the UK next year, so I've bunched all the US people together before it goes to Europe. Thanks for your understanding...

1. krin511 (US - MD)
2. LilPatoodle (US - MD)
3. roadrunner (US- TX)
4. illinicheme (US - CA) *
5. jkate (US - CA) <-------------current reader
6. caligula03 (US - CA)
7. kymberlie (US - TX)
8. casseytara (US - OK) *
9. PenelopePitstop (Italy) *
10. Uniikki (Finland) *
11. back to me - Kernow8 (US - VA, or UK if after Jun '04)

* = international mailing OK 

Journal Entry 2 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Monday, September 15, 2003

Mailed to krin511 today - enjoy! 

Journal Entry 3 by krin511 from Olney, Maryland USA on Wednesday, September 17, 2003

Received in today's mail - thanks! 

Journal Entry 4 by krin511 from Olney, Maryland USA on Wednesday, September 24, 2003

An absolutely incredible book! A little hard to follow at first, but after a while I got used to the different narratives and how they related to each other. I look forward to seeing how others view the book. 

Journal Entry 5 by LilPatoodle from Greenbelt, Maryland USA on Tuesday, September 30, 2003

Received the book in yesterday's mail -- thank you, Kernow8 and Krin511! Just started reading it this morning during my Metro commute. 

Journal Entry 6 by LilPatoodle from Greenbelt, Maryland USA on Sunday, October 26, 2003

I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't call it one of my top-10 books of all time. The story is told in a very nonlinear fashion -- be warned. 

Journal Entry 7 by LilPatoodle from Greenbelt, Maryland USA on Tuesday, November 04, 2003

It's finally on its way to roadrunner in TX!!! 

Journal Entry 8 by roadrunner from Spring, Texas USA on Monday, November 10, 2003

I received this on Friday and am really looking forward to reading it. I'm in the middle of a bookring book now but will get to this asap. Thanks Kernow8 for sharing a book that has been on my Wish List forever! 

Journal Entry 9 by roadrunner from Spring, Texas USA on Monday, December 08, 2003

I finally finished this book. I thought this book was very good and it has stayed in my thoughts for the past few days. It starts out a bit silly (Sammy Davis, Jr, Jr) but ends up quite serious and touching. The images of what was done to the people of Kolki and Trachimbrod are haunting and hard to shake. I thought the writing in this book was very different and could sometimes be difficult to follow but the payoff in the end was worth it. I'm just waiting to hear from Jkate with her addy and this will be on the move again. Thanks Kernow8 for sharing! 

Journal Entry 10 by illinicheme from Novato, California USA on Friday, December 26, 2003

I arrived home from the holidays today and this book was waiting for me (along with several others). I will get to it as soon as I can, and journal again when finished. Thanks! 

Journal Entry 11 by illinicheme from Novato, California USA on Thursday, January 29, 2004

Wow.

First off, the sections written by Alex were incredible. I really enjoyed the bastardization of the English. Very well-done and very clever. Safran Foer developed an excellent voice for that character, interesting and believable.

As for the book as a whole, I wish I had read it in a more uninterrupted fashion, or with an actual book group to discuss it with while reading. Unfortunately, I do most of my reading in 30 minute chunks on buses or over my lunch hour, so I feel like I missed a few things and still have a few loose ends that weren't tied up. But for the most part the nonlinear nature of the story was very successful. I didn't enjoy the history sections as much as Alex's sections, largely because I had to work hard for awhile to keep track of the characters, and I'm not a big fan of writing filled with...I guess I'll call it whimsy. Usually I prefer stories more firmly grounded in what can actually happen. But overall, it was successful and the very moving emotions and themes came through loud and clear.

Definitely a must read for anyone who likes to be challenged by books from time to time.

Thank you Kernow8 for sharing this book. It will be on its way to jkate this afternoon.
 

Journal Entry 12 by jkate from Pleasant Hill, California USA on Tuesday, February 03, 2004

I got this one today! Thanks! 

Journal Entry 13 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Sunday, January 20, 2008

I'm just in the process of tidying up my profile page so thought I'd update this journal. This bookring stalled back in 2004, and remaining members were added to outofreach's ring, which looks as though it might also have stalled...