Read in February

*I know that this post is a bit tardy ... you know how it goes ...

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Renata initially suggested this book to me, and I bought it for Shane Christmas 2007. He devoured it in one night and has told me countless times to read it. They share a love of all things apocalyptic, which is rubbing off on me.

I'm not really sure what to say about this book. The writing is amazing, the story is incredible, and every page felt like a heartbreak. It's a haunting book, and makes me really, really value the life that I have. McCarthy is an amazing writer, and I am certain I'll pick up another book by him in the near future. There are not a lot of writers that give me chills and can get under my skin that much.

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
I've called this my favorite book casually over the last few years. I first read it the summer of 2003, and again Fall of 2005. It's always called to me, I absolutely adore his writing, the style, his word choice, his humor. The main themes call to me too: love, family, the quest for information. This third reading of it was for one of my book groups - and I really appreciated having those ladies to discuss it with, because we came to some interesting new discoveries.

I would recommend the movie, but it's definitely different from the book, and I like it the most when I am not trying to compare them. And I look forward to the movie version of The Road, I am really curious how those images were translated on film. No County For Old Men was done so well, I hope this compares.

The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon
I finished this book this morning, and am still trying to process it. I read another book by Hemon when I was traveling last November, and in both of these works I am continuously struck by what a beautiful writer he is. So beautiful.

Lazarus Project is really two stories in one: It's 1908 in Chicago, Lazarus Averbuch is a Jewish Eastern European immigrant, along with his sister Olga. His life comes to a quick halt, and the rest of his story is Olga trying to figure out why all this happened.

The second story takes place in present day, with another character trying to figure out why this happened to Lazarus. Brik is an immigrant from Bosnia who decides to travel to Europe and follow the path that Lazarus took to get to America.

This book reminded me a lot of Everything is Illuminated and Netherland in various ways. Apparently I am drawn to this type of book at this point in my life, which makes sense to me. I am not sure what else I can say about Lazarus Project without giving too much away. It's a wonderful read, but I am not sure it's something everyone can enjoy or relate to.

Two more books checked off my TBR list!