Here I Am
First edition, 2016
AuthorJonathan Safran Foer
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreNovel
PublisherFarrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date
September 6, 2016
Media typePrint
Pages592 (first edition, hardback)
ISBN978-0374280024 (first edition, hardback)
WebsiteHere I Am

Here I Am is a 2016 novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. It depicts a series of events that impact members of a Jewish family living in Washington, D.C., which some reviewers suggest includes autobiographical elements of Foer’s life. Here I Am is the first new novel published by Foer in over ten years, and it is the first in Foer's three-book installment with Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Plot

Christian Lorentzen has described the plot as a blend of several different events, including "[a] divorce, a suicide, a bar mitzvah, an earthquake, an all-out Middle Eastern war, and the putting to sleep of a family dog".[1] These plot elements are tied together through a central narrative about the ways in which these events impact the lives of a Jewish family living in Washington, D.C.[2][3] Daniel Menaker notes that the "collage" of narratives overlap with one another at times, though they also sometimes conflict with each other.[3] Jennifer Maloney has suggested that the novel contains several autobiographical elements.[4] Constance Grady also cited similarities between Jacob Bloch, a character in the novel, and events in Foer's own life.[5] When asked to describe the novel, author Jonathan Safran Foer said, "I would say it’s not my life but it’s me."[4]

Background

Here I Am is Foer's third novel, following Everything Is Illuminated (2002) and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005).[2][6] It is the first in Foer's three-book installment with publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux.[7] The phrase "here I am" is derived from the biblical account of the words that were spoken by Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac.[6][8] Foer stated that he wrote two-thirds of Here I Am in the final year of his work on the novel.[9] According to Time, Foer's work on the novel "went into high gear" after Foer decided to stop working on a planned television show for HBO called All Talk; the planned television show also would have focused on the life of a Jewish family in Washington, D.C.[10] Foer explained that when he worked on the novel at his home, he would write on a laptop computer placed on his lap, and that he would move between rooms of his house whenever he began to experience "the inability to value [his] thoughts", an experience that Foer described as "Jonathan block".[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lorentzen, Christian (August 18, 2016). "With Here I Am, Jonathan Safran Foer Has Written a Philip Roth Novel in the Style of a Hallmark Card". Vulture. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Garner, Dwight (September 6, 2016). "'Here I Am,' Jonathan Safran Foer's Tale of a Fracturing Family". The New York Times. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Menaker, Daniel (September 9, 2016). "Jonathan Safran Foer's New Novel Wrestles With the Demands of Jewish Identity". The New York Times. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Maloney, Jennifer (August 31, 2016). "Jonathan Safran Foer's Contrasting Crises". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  5. ↑ Grady, Constance (September 6, 2016). "Here I Am is Jonathan Safran Foer's first novel in 11 years. It's sort of worth the wait". Vox. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Preston, Alex (August 28, 2016). "Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer review – trouble on the home front". The Guardian. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ Geeslin, Campbell (January 5, 2016). "The blurb business, what's in a name, & more". The Authors Guild. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ McAlpin, Heller (September 6, 2016). "'Here I Am' Grapples With Weighty Matters ... And Weighty Paragraphs". NPR. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Safran Foer, Jonathan (August 27, 2016). "Jonathan Safran Foer: 'I don't have writer's block, but am a chronic sufferer of "Jonathan block"'". The Guardian. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  10. ↑ Grossman, Lev (August 23, 2016). "Jonathan Safran Foer's Family Drama". Time. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
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