
Here I Am
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Ari Fliakos
A monumental new audiobook from the bestselling author of Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer's Here I Am
In the book of Genesis, when God calls out, “Abraham!” before ordering him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, Abraham responds, “Here I am.” Later, when Isaac calls out, “My father!” before asking him why there is no animal to slaughter, Abraham responds, “Here I am.”
How do we fulfill our conflicting duties as father, husband, and son; wife and mother; child and adult? Jew and American? How can we claim our own identities when our lives are linked so closely to others’? These are the questions at the heart of Jonathan Safran Foer’s first novel in eleven years—a work of extraordinary scope and heartbreaking intimacy.
Unfolding over four tumultuous weeks in present-day Washington, D.C., Here I Am is the story of a fracturing family in a moment of crisis. As Jacob and Julia Bloch and their three sons are forced to confront the distances between the lives they think they want and the lives they are living, a catastrophic earthquake sets in motion a quickly escalating conflict in the Middle East. At stake is the meaning of home—and the fundamental question of how much aliveness one can bear.
Showcasing the same high-energy inventiveness, hilarious irreverence, and emotional urgency that readers and critics loved in his earlier work, Here I Am is Foer’s most searching, hard-hitting, and grandly entertaining novel yet. It not only confirms Foer’s stature as a dazzling literary talent but reveals a novelist who has fully come into his own as one of the most important writers in America.
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Critic reviews
"[Ari] Fliakos masterfully weaves the multiple perspectives (and many accents, including Israeli and Iranian)...into a cohesive and powerful audiobook." AudioFile Magazine
"Foer’s novel requires a very talented narrator—and it got one. The prose is fast, forceful, funny, and friendly, and actor Fliakos handles it all superbly. He distinguishes children of different ages as well as fathers, grandparents, and even great-grandparents." Publishers Weekly
Featured Article: 15 Essential Jewish Authors to Hear in Audio
The Jewish diaspora is vast, diverse, and full of stories. In recent years, Jewish authors have published books about everything from love, identity, and history to crime, romance, and what it means to come of age in the modern world. While this list is by no means complete, these 15 Jewish authors have written some of the most fascinating Jewish literature, and they represent a deep catalog of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in a range of genres.
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Bold, baggy, and beautiful
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Mainly for Jewish americans
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Gifted writer and well performed
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The books does a fantastic job of describing and exploring martial and familiar relationships.
There some subplots which were a distraction and did not drive the plot line, but being merely filer.
Wonderful book
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Brilliant!
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Frickin great
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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I can't tell if it was the narrator's tone or the book itself that made listening seem like a chore. The content was very dark and self-obsessed, like so much contemporary literary fiction. I felt like a passive therapist who listens to a client drone on about himself. The story had so much potential but ended up mainly serving to understand the main character's psychology rather than having the story and dialogue front and center. The main character was insufferable, self-obsessed, and passive, that even if that was the point, it was annoying to hear. I probably wouldn't have gotten this far except that I'm interested in the content, as ancillary as it feels to the larger project of self-analysis.How did the narrator detract from the book?
The narrator used a monotone, insistent, driving voice that detracted from the story. It was tiresome to listen to the accusatory tone with which he read every sentence's adult male character.Any additional comments?
Hoping the ending will change my perspective.Incomplete- haven't finished
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Another Safran Foer Gem
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Witty, deep and heartfelt
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Would you consider the audio edition of Here I Am to be better than the print version?
I bought both versions and intend to give the hard copy to a friend because Here I Am is a masterpiece and its narrator, Ari Fliakos, did a masterful job. Amid this horrible election season when all the news is at least nasty if not bad, Here I Am is a hopeful story about people leading honorable lives. Not perfect lives. But lives where one's word matters. Where responsibility is assumed. Where dignity is important. Where empathy and kindness are always on offer.What other book might you compare Here I Am to and why?
I can't think of a peer, at the moment.Which character – as performed by Ari Fliakos – was your favorite?
Ari Fliakos is a master story teller and made obvious the intelligence and moral obligations of each character. Moreover, he tells the story in an almost light-hearted way. Profound concerns aren't pedantically presented and shoved down your throat--they're just shown the light of day. Really awesome, Foer's text and Fliakos' read.Decent people trying to live decent lives.
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