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. I'll be rereading this at some point, and I'll see if I get even more out of it then.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Got there after business hours, so the book is in a plastic bag on the ground in front of the store, right under the Bookcrossing sign.