1
of
1
Everything is Illuminated
Series: Penguin Essentials
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 183,154 ratings, 9,006 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock
Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Everything is Illuminated. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Latest News
The Grand Line Awaits! New One Piece Plush Toys
New One Piece Plush Toys have arrived at Toy Hero
Bluey Alert: New Bluey Toys Have Just Arrived!
New Bluey Toys have arrived at Toy Hero
A personal message to our customers
We've heard that some people are surprised to learn that Book Hero is a 100%...
Fiction for Foodies
Lizzy is sharing some of her favourite fiction reads for people who love food as...
Book Hero's Favourite Biographies!
The Book Hero team are sharing their favourite biography or memoir - some are recent...
See more
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Everything is Illuminated is Jonathan Safran Foer's bestselling debut novel, published as a Penguin Essential for the first time.
A young man arrives in Ukraine, clutching in his hand a tattered photograph. He is searching for the woman who, fifty years ago, saved his grandfather from the Nazis.
Unfortunately, he is aided in his quest by Alex, a translator with an uncanny ability to mangle English into bizarre new forms; a "blind" old man haunted by memories of the war; and an undersexed guide dog named Sammy Davis Jr, Jr.
What they are looking for seems elusiveβa truth hidden behind veils of time, language, and the horrors of war. What they find turns all their worlds upside down.
Series: Penguin Essentials
View all-
1984
1984 by George Orwell is a gripping tale set in a dystopian future where the world is embroiled in perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, and incessant public manipulation. The story unfolds in Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, a province of the superstate Oceania. Here, the Party, led by the enigmatic and omniscient Big Brother, exerts absolute power over...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Animal Farm
A landmark in modern literature, Animal Farm by George Orwell is a timeless fable about the dangers of power and corruption. The story begins with Mr Jones, the negligent and frequently intoxicated owner of Manor Farm, who fails to care for his animals. Incited by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, the animals revolt, oust Mr Jones, and seize control of...Paperback$2599Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Man in the High Castle
New Penguin Essentials edition of Philip K. Dick's haunting vision of the world as it might have been. 'Truth, she thought. As terrible as death. But harder to find.' America, fifteen years after the end of the Second World War. The winning Axis powers have divided their spoils - the Nazis control New York, while California is ruled by the...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Submarine
A funny, fresh coming-of-age story, now a Penguin Essential. Meet Oliver Tate, 15. Convinced that his father is depressed ("Depression comes in bouts. Like boxing. Dad is in the blue corner") and his mother is having an affair with her capoeira teacher, "a hippy-looking twonk", he embarks on a hilariously misguided campaign to bring the family back together. Meanwhile, he...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Hell's Angels
We're the one percenters, man - the one percent that don't fit in and don't care. 'A phalanx of motorcycles came roaring over the hill from the west... the noise was like a landslide, or a wing of bombers passing over. Even knowing the Angels I couldn't quite handle what I was seeing. It was like Genghis Khan, Morgan's Raiders,...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Pursuit of Love
The Pursuit of Love, Mitford's beloved novel, is published as a Penguin Essential for the first time. 'Obsessed with sex!' said Jassy, 'there's nobody so obsessed as you, Linda. Why if I so much as look at a picture you say I'm a pygmalionist.' In the end, we got far more information out of a book called Ducks and Duck...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Libra
Libra by Don DeLillo, now available as a Penguin Essential, delves deep into the heart of America's most gripping historical momentβthe assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Set against the backdrop of Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 PM, the narrative captures the instant the nation was plunged into turmoil and psychosis. Shots ring...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Forty Rules of Love
A magical, cross-century tale of self-discovery from the Booker-shortlisted author of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World - now a Penguin Essential. Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children, and a pleasant home. Everything that should make her confident and fulfilled. Yet, there is an emptiness at the heart of Ella's life - an emptiness once filled...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Bastard of Istanbul
A breath-taking novel about a violent secret that threatens the peace of two interwoven families β now a Penguin Essential. One rainy afternoon in Istanbul a woman walks into a doctor's surgery. 'I want an abortion', she announces. She is nineteen years old, and unmarried. What happens that afternoon is to change her life, and the lives of everyone around...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Chrysalids
The Chrysalids, John Wyndham's classic science fiction novel, is published as an Essential for the first time. David Strorm's father disapproves of Angus Morton's unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. Little does he realise that his own son, his niece Rosalind, and their friends harbour their own secret aberration that would label them as mutants. As David and...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
A Room with a View
A delightfully satiric comedy of manners and an immensely satisfying love story. 'You love the boy body and soul, plainly, directly, as he loves you . . .' Lucy has her rigid, middle-class life mapped out for her until she visits Florence with her uptight cousin Charlotte, and finds her neatly ordered existence thrown off balance. Her eyes are opened...Paperback$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
In Cold Blood
New edition of the Penguin Essential of the book that made Truman Capote's name. 'Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, "a natural killer" - absolutely sane, but conscienceless, and capable of dealing, with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows.' On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, a wealthy farmer, his wife and their two...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer has been praised for its inventive narrative and blending of humour with poignant themes. Reviewers often highlight Foer's compelling use of language and his ability to weave together a touching story about identity, history, and memory. Critics also appreciate the novel's unique structure and the memorable characters that drive the complex, layered storytelling.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780241978894
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 04 August 2016
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 18.0mm
Width: 111.0mm
Height: 182.0mm
Weight: 161g
Pages: 288
About the Author
Jonathan Safran Foer is the author of Everything Is Illuminated, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Eating Animals and Here I Am. He has also edited a new modern edition of the sacred Jewish Haggadah. Everything Is Illuminated won several literary prizes, including the National Jewish Book Award and the Guardian First Book Award. He edited the anthology A Convergence of Birds- Original Fiction and Poetry Inspired by the Work of Joseph Cornell, and his stories have been published in the Paris Review, Conjunctions and the New Yorker. Jonathan Safran Foer teaches Creative Writing at New York University.
Also by Jonathan Safran Foer
View all-
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer is a singular and profoundly moving novel that captures the essence of a boy's quest for understanding amidst heartbreak and loss. This brilliantly inventive work is the follow-up to the acclaimed Everything Is Illuminated, showcasing Foer's extraordinary talent for weaving together emotional depth and imaginative narrative. At the heart of the...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Eating Animals
A passionate exposΓ© that serves up the truth about the meat on our plate - and where it's come from. I simply wanted to know - for myself and my family - what meat is. Where does it come from? How is it produced? What are the economic, social and environmental effects? Are there animals that it is straightforwardly right...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Everything is Illuminated
Everything is Illuminated won the Guardian First Book Award in 2002. It tells the story of a young man who goes to Ukraine in search of the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He is aided in his quest by a blind old man, a randy guide dog and a very, very bad translator.Paperback$1699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Everything is Illuminated
A young man arrives in Ukraine, clutching in his hand a tattered photograph. He is searching for the woman who fifty years ago saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Unfortunately, he is aided in his quest by Alex, a translator with an uncanny ability to mangle English into bizarre new forms; a 'blind' old man haunted by memories of the...PaperbackSold Out -
We are the Weather
From the bestselling author of Eating Animals, a brilliantly fresh and accessible take on climate change - and what we can do about it. Most books about the environmental crisis are densely academic, depressingly doom-laden and crammed with impersonal statistics. We are the Weather is different - accessible, immediate and with a single clear solution that individual readers can put...PaperbackSold Out -
Here I Am
Exuberantly funny and deeply moving, a monumental American novel about family, identity and modern life. Jacob and Julia Bloch have a problem. While they've been coaxing Jacob's grandfather into a retirement home, bracing themselves for a family reunion, and struggling to keep their eldest son from being expelled, a discovery is made that risks destroying their marriage. And as domestic...PaperbackSold Out
More from General Fiction
View all-
The Wedding People
'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people β but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...Set$12400Elsewhere:$15500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Goal
Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Red Rising
The first book in the incredible New York Times bestselling series Darrow is a Helldiver, toiling beneath the surface of Mars. As a member of the Red caste, he performs grueling labor in the belief that his sacrifice will enable future generations to one day inhabit the surface of the Red Planet. The Reds are humankind's lowest caste, living in...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Score
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseThe Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragonsβ¦ Raeveβs thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor β a staunch beacon from a past sheβs yet to face. With Rekkβs blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...Hardback$5999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Theo of Golden
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came fromβ¦His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance β...Paperback$2899Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Yesteryear
A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE β Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE β Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE β Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS β Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale β Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Golden Son
ENDER'S GAME meets THE HUNGER GAMES in this, the second in an extraordinary trilogy from an incredible new voice.'I'm still playing games. This is just the deadliest yet.' Darrow is a rebel forged by tragedy. For years he and his fellow Reds worked the mines, toiling to make the surface of Mars inhabitable. They were, they believed, mankind's last hope....Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Voracious
From USA Today bestselling author and TikTok sensation comes the gripping, steamy dark romance series that everyone is talking about!'Filled with TENSION, HEARTBREAK and ELECTRIC CHEMISTRY. This one will tear your heart right out of your chest before tossing it back in and sewing you up' No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Brynne Weaver'Leigh Rivers is THE QUEEN OF...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Mistake
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Mistake now for the perfect second chance romance! He's a player in more ways than one . . . College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants....Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
General Fiction lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Hannah's listGeneral Fiction
Gothic Reads for Dark Nights
With the advent of movie adaptations like Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, it looks like pop culture is seeing a revival of the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Top 10 Most Recommended Books
These are my Top 10 books that I always recommend to my friends and whΔnau when they ask for recommendations for getting...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Books to Escape a Reading Slump
A reading slump can be a frustrating feeling and hard to break out of, but we've gathered together a list of crowd...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![Star Shipped]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Pride Fiction Picks!
June marks Global Pride Month so in case you're looking for your next great fiction read, here's a list of some of...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Readersβ Top 100 Novels of All Time - from The Guardian
There was some controversy when The Guardian released their critics and authors list of the top 100 novels of all time, but...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Favourite Books of 2026
The first half of 2026 has been packed with brilliant books, making it hard to choose favourites but here are a few...View the list
