In Tune: Kat picks the best books of the decade

by Katerina Resek, highlights, Features, February, 2010

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (2002) is a novel narrated through unique perspectives. One is a broken-English speaking Eastern European translator’s tale that intertwines with a story told by a Jewish man who is searching for the woman who saved his grandfather’s life. Because the story is confusing, it is suggested that one sees the movie based on the book after reading. The intricacies of this investigative, historical fiction novel are beautiful and innovative which makes for a fast yet enlightening read. Foer succeeds in meshing the perspectives in the story into one and it ends unforgettably.

            The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2003) by Mark Haddon is a fictional and heartwarming yet humorous novel about an autistic adolescent who writes a story about the murder of his neighbor’s dog. Throughout the novel, his incapability of understanding humans is shown and leads to his trouble identifying with people due to his extreme intelligence and hesitation towards physical contact. His story is captivating because the reader feels torn between envying him for his intelligence and feeling sadness for his inability to connect with others.

            A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000) is a memoir by Dave Eggers. It mixes reality with fiction; it is semi-autobiographical but some parts are fantastical and exaggerated. The book is clever, funny, and depressing but worth the time. It deals with the narrator coping with his parents’ deaths and taking care of his younger brother as best as he thinks his parents would have, while still trying to experience life as a normal man in his twenties. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius explores themes of exhibitionism and existentialism.