As Leo Tolstoy would say, every dysfunctional family is different in their own way. In the case of Jonathan Safran Foer's "Here I Am," he explores one in the middle of a variety of struggles. As a son is set to have a Bar Mitzvah, a Jewish couple is dealing with their own martial problems that come with a painful vulnerability. Everyone is at odds with each other, and there isn't any clear answer to be found. Foer's attention to detail allows for a clever spin on familiar domestic struggles, using the Jewish identity to convey the confusion of life and the quest for meaning amid ever-changing circumstances. The final journey is an entertaining and provocative journey that finds the author delivering another masterful slice-of-life character piece that may be a bit more muted but comes with its own amusement.
If there is one element that "Here I Am" excels at, it's managing to convey the awkwardness of cross-talk. As the family struggles to communicate, several pages are filled with fragmented conversations where everyone is trying to get a word in. Often one character will be conveying information that is lost in a larger, sometimes less important, conversation. The absurdity creates its own punchline, finding a perfect embodiment of Foer's interest in how a family can love each other but miss what is meaningful to someone else. When the moments finally click, several pages have passed and a lot of the heated exchanges become an afterthought. It's through this characterization that everything reveals how the personalities are formed and who is most interested in whom.
While it's a novel that ultimately becomes meandering, Foer remains an author who enjoys trying to recontextualize the way that characters interact on the page. Along with a subplot about an overseas war that is symbolic of the impending family divorce, he's created a complicated view of how the individual is no longer simply just a product of a neighborhood but has the power to impact the greater world. As family members grow and others die, truths emerge that provide their own kooky piece of wisdom. Some of the answers may not make total sense, but it's a perfect embodiment of how life is often appreciated only in hindsight when everything has been collected and the reader has observed the various quirks of someone they either love or are annoyed by. In that sense, it's a solid novel about how much more fun mundanity can be than given initial credit for.
Overall, the meandering portion of "Here I Am" comes a little too late and dampens the momentum enough to make the finale a bit underwhelming. The characters have all fallen into a static state that may be endearing in spurts, but collectively lack that drive to warrant the extended length of the book. It's a solid read and one that never dulls the reader too much. However, the mileage may vary on how much one wants to hear about a couple arguing or a child trying to find a connection through online conversations. They all feel human, but much like any human in life, there is a limit to how they are appealing. The trick is to wade through it all and find the brilliance contained in this novel. It's not always there, but when it is, it's some of the most entertaining prose imaginable.
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