The first few chapters of "Everything Is Illuminated" were kind of confusing for me. I wasn't exactly sure what was going on and the writing was jarring and uncomfortable. Once I settled in and started understanding the purpose for the strange writing style, I fell in love with the characters and the story and the writing.

There's part of me that wants to throw this in a category of WWII Holocaust books (which there are so many of), but I couldn't quite do that. Up until the ending, this book isn't about the Holocaust - it's about a boy building a relationship with his grandfather and two young adults from completely different worlds getting to know each other and a road trip and a girl trying to find her place in a strange world and tracking down characters from the past. The Holocaust storyline, while it wraps everything up and explains a lot about the grandfather, it does not overtake the story, for the story is so much more than that.

I would definitely recommend reading this book. It takes a bit of time to get into, but it's worth it. The characters are wonderful and hilarious and intriguing (and very well-developed). The stories that interweave through each other are huge and beautiful and fun. And the writing is superb.