Everything Is Illuminated is Jonathan Safran Foers bestselling novel of a search for truth,published as a Penguin Essential for the first time.The inspiration for the Liev Schreiber film, starring Elijah WoodA young man arrives in the Ukraine, clutching in his hand a tattered photograph. He is searching for the woman who fifty years ago saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Unfortunately, he is aided in his quest by Alex, a translator with an uncanny ability to mangle English into bizarre new forms; a blind old man haunted by memories of the war; and an undersexed guide dog named Sammy Davis Jr, Jr. What they are looking for seems elusive -- a truth hidden behind veils of time, language and the horrors of war.What they find turns all their worlds upside down . . .An astonishing feat of writing: hilariously funny and deeply serious, a gripping narrative. ExtraordinaryThe TimesOne of the most impressive novel debuts of recent yearsJoyce Carol Oates, The Times Literary SupplementA first novel of startling originalityJay McInerney, ObserverShowy, smart. Made me laugh a lot Susan Sontag, The Times Literary SupplementIt seems hard to believe that such a young writer can have such a deep understanding of both comedy and tragedy Erica Wagner, The TimesA box of treasures LA TimesFunny, life affirming, brilliant Esquire